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Zimmerman trial judge will not step down

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 George Zimmerman (right) talks with his attorney Mark O'Mara in the courtroom during his second bond hearing in the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida, on June 29, 2012. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. UPI/Joe Burbank/Pool
George Zimmerman (right) talks with his attorney Mark O'Mara in the courtroom during his second bond hearing in the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida, on June 29, 2012. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. UPI/Joe Burbank/Pool 
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Published: Aug. 1, 2012 at 3:01 PM

SANFORD, Fla., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The judge in the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., chose not to recuse himself Wednesday, denying the defendant's request.

Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. made the formal ruling without commenting on a defense suggestion that Zimmerman would not be treated fairly.

In a bond order, Lester described Zimmerman as a manipulator who was gaming the criminal justice system by concealing $130,000 raised by a defense fund and a passport, and in a previous order, suggested Zimmerman might have fled without a court-ordered monitoring system, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Zimmerman is currently free on $1 million bail, awaiting trial for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot Feb. 26.

Topics: George Zimmerman
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