New judge assigned to Antwon Rose case after previous judge's recusal

PITTSBURGH — The judge assigned to the Antwon Rose case recused himself Wednesday and a new judge was named.

Judge Alexander Bicket will replace Judge Anthony Mariani, who had been assigned to the case Aug. 17.

Mariani had been selected after protesters called for Judge Jeffrey Manning to be removed after a decision to not revoke the bond for Officer Michael Rosfeld, who fatally shot 17-year-old Rose.

During a Sept. 11 pre-trial conference, Rosfeld's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, argued Mariani might be biased. Thomassey pointed to comments made by Mariani during an appearance on "NightTalk" on PCNC.

STORY: Michael Rosfeld’s attorney argues judge might be biased in Antwon Rose case

Mariani announced his recusal during a hearing Wednesday morning. He said while he does not have any bias and is not unethical, doubt had clearly been raised.

“The judge wanted to make it very clear he is not biased, nor does he believe the statements he made publicly were biased; however, he does not want the appearance of impropriety. Sometimes, especially in high-profile trials, that is just as important,” attorney Phil DiLucente, who is not on the case, said.

While the Feb. 26 trial date set during the pre-trial conference will stand, all previously filed motions will be thrown out -- including a motion for a gag order that was to be discussed Wednesday.

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Prosecutors had been seeking to prevent witnesses and attorneys from talking about the case. They argued various comments made by Thomassey could create bias in the legal process.

RELATED STORY: Antwon Rose family attorney weighs in on probe into Pittsburgh police officer

Thomassey has said he believes prosecutors might be trying to hide something.

Rosfeld is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Rose, who was shot as he and another teenager ran from a traffic stop on the night of June 19. Rose was unarmed.

Mariani said he plans to also recuse himself from the case involving Zaijuan Hester, who was in the car with Rose and is accused in a drive-by shooting that happened minutes before Rose was killed.

Cox Media Group