Judge Won't Recuse

U.S. District Court Judge Frank Montalvo has denied a defense request to recuse himself and will continue presiding over the corruption case of lawyer Luther Jones and District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez.

Jones, 63, and Sanchez, 42, filed a motion asking Montalvo to step aside. A hearing on their recusal motion was scheduled for next Friday, but Montalvo last week preempted it by denying the request, court records show.

In his denial order, Montalvo wrote that Jones and Sanchez had not proved that he overstepped his role as the presiding judge. They alleged he was too intimate with the details of the government's investigation and could no longer be fair to the suspects.

Montalvo disagreed.

"The undersigned faithfully followed the law and the constitution," Montalvo stated of himself. "Therefore, no reasonable person would doubt the undersigned's impartiality, nor is there anything which reflects such a high degree of antagonism as to make fair judgment impossible."

With the recusal motion still undecided, Montalvo last month made a blockbuster ruling in favor of Sanchez and Jones. He dismissed three of five charges against each man. These included two bribery charges and one count of mail fraud. Montalvo ruled that the five-year statute of limitations lapsed before federal prosecutors obtained the indictments on the bribery counts.

Jones and Sanchez still face two felony counts of conspiracy. The government alleges that they tried to rig a $53 million contract for a company Jones represented.

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Judge Won't Recuse Self in Corruption Case