Ramsey County District Judge Joanne Smith recused herself from hearing the new trial of Gordon Weaver and wrote a sharply worded memo disputing defense claims about her impartiality.
Weaver's attorney, Joe Friedberg, has "made reckless and false statements which by innuendo create that this court may have been 'aware, during or after the trials, of the criminal acts of prosecutors'" said Smith's memo, filed Wednesday. "This statement ... is beyond the bounds of zealous advocacy."
Friedberg's statements were included in an affidavit in November in support of his motions to disqualify Smith, the entire Ramsey County bench and the county attorney's office from the Weaver case.
Weaver, 51, of White Bear Lake, was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1999 death of his wife, Jean. But last July, the Minnesota Court of Appeals granted him a new trial, saying Smith shouldn't have allowed testimony about blood-test results after they were destroyed.
Prosecutors have said that information about the person who tested Jean Weaver's blood and the machine used to measure carbon monoxide levels was lost and later found. Friedberg has said that prosecutors knew about that evidence but sat on it until Weaver's conviction was overturned.
Friedberg argued Wednesday that prosecutors should face sanctions for not disclosing the information sooner.
He also argued that it would be a conflict of interest for a Ramsey County judge to assess the credibility of a prosecutor from the county attorney's office.
Assistant County Attorney Mitchell Rothman said, "There isn't a shred of evidence" that prosecutors intentionally hid evidence from the defense, he said. A new trial has already been ordered and no other sanctions are needed, Rothman said.
