The judge in the US trial of a neighbourhood watch volunteer charged with murdering unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin has recused herself from the racially and politically charged case.
Judge Jessica Recksiedler made the decision based on filing by attorneys for 28-year-old George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the February 26 killing of 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Florida.
The high-profile case drew an emotional reaction from President Barack Obama after touching off demonstrations around the country as Martin's family, lawyers and civil rights leaders alleged he was a victim of racial profiling.
Zimmerman's backers say he fired in self-defense after Martin attacked him.
His defense team had asked for Recksiedler's removal because her husband is a legal partner of a CNN analyst following the case, raising a potential conflict of interest.
The judge said that each of the arguments were on their own "legally insufficient" for disqualification but that "the cumulative effect of the events and the totality of the circumstances provides a legally sufficient basis for this court to grant the motion to disqualify."
Under Florida law, a person needs to show a reasonable belief that the judge might not be fair for disqualification.
After a special prosecutor's investigation, Zimmerman, who has a white father and a Peruvian-born mother, was charged last week with second-degree murder and is being held in jail ahead of a bond hearing set for Friday. He is to be arraigned on May 29.
After Recksiedler disqualified herself, chief judge Alan Dickey reassigned the case to judge Kenneth Lester, a court statement said.
The details of the court pleadings are not known because the case has been sealed. Several news organizations have joined in a petition to unseal the court documents.
Zimmerman's defense lawyer asked that the records be sealed because of the extensive publicity surrounding the case. Prosecutors agreed and the judge approved the request.
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