LAS VEGAS — Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles accused a judge of antagonizing and “badgering” him when she questioned him about representing himself against a murder charge.
Prosecutors have said Telles fatally stabbed Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German outside his home in September because of articles German had written about Telles’ conduct as an elected official. After District Judge Michelle Leavitt allowed Telles to represent himself, Telles filed a motion this week asking for Leavitt to be disqualified from the case.
“Judge Leavitt’s opinion of Defendant and his self-representation displays a deep-seated antagonism that will make fair judgment in future hearings impossible,” Telles stated in the hand-written, 12-page motion released Friday.
During a court hearing last week, Leavitt grilled Telles for nearly 30 minutes about his decision to represent himself and his knowledge of criminal law. She repeatedly told him that she believed representing himself was a bad idea.
Telles has practiced mostly civil and probate law since graduating from Boyd Law School in 2014. He has previously said that he has never handled a felony criminal case, and has taken three civil cases to a jury trial.
He accused Leavitt of “badgering” him during last week’s hearing, which Telles said “led the media to produce stories wherein Defendant’s intentions and capacity were called into question.”
In his exhibits, Telles included two news articles about Leavitt’s ruling allowing him to represent himself.
Telles has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder with a deadly weapon against a victim who is 60 or older. He has told other local media outlets that he was framed.
In court, prosecutors have pointed to several pieces of evidence against Telles in German’s slaying, including DNA found underneath the reporter’s fingernails and clothing and bloody pieces of a shoe found at Telles’ house matching items worn by a suspect seen in surveillance footage wandering German’s neighborhood the day he was killed.
Telles remains in the Clark County Detention Center without bail. A jury trial in the case is currently scheduled for November, and a hearing on Telles’ motion regarding Leavitt is scheduled for March 30.
