Angry over tickets he received for driving the wrong way in a parking lot and lacking proof of insurance, a Florida judge and former federal prosecutor got out of his Lexus and argued with the state trooper who issued them, reports the Palm Beach Post.
During the confrontation, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes allegedly told trooper Sandra Thompson he would dismiss any case she ever brought to him because "he knew she was a liar" and also stated that "if this is the type of tickets that troopers write, he would always have doubts when a trooper appears in his courtroom,'' states a Florida Highway Patrol report. It was made in February, six months after the September parking lot incident.
Now the Palm Beach County state's attorney's office apparently intends to seek his recusal in cases involving the FHP. In a Feb. 19 motion, Assistant State Attorney Ellen Roberts seeks his recusal in one case, saying that she learned of the incident through talk around the courthouse. However, in an attached affidavit, the office's chief assistant state attorney says he is "acutely concerned and fearful" that the state won't receive a fair trial from Kastrenakes in any case involving the FHP, reports the Post.
Kastrenakes declined comment, saying that he can't discuss any matter before him. He paid a $216 fine in the parking lot case after initially pleading not guilty.