Despite a defense attorney’s requests to remove her, an Oklahoma County district judge remains on the criminal case against the co-founders of Epic Charter School. The county’s chief judge declined to force a recusal in a hearing Friday at the Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — An attempt to have a judge thrown off the major embezzlement case against the Epic Charter School co-founders has been rejected again.
Oklahoma County District Judge Richard Ogden decided after a hearing Friday afternoon that he would not disqualify district Judge Susan Stallings from overseeing the case.
Defense attorney Joe White, who represents Epic co-founder Ben Harris, said he likely will appeal the decision to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
“We’re disappointed,” White said after the hearing. “I stand by everything I said.”
White contended Stallings should have recused because she worked for the district attorney who investigated the case. He accused Stallings of being partial to the prosecutors, particularly her former colleague Jimmy Harmon.