Request to remove judge from Adrian Peterson trial denied
A request to remove the judge handling Adrian Peterson's child injury case has been denied, according to TheAssociated Press.
Prosecutors in the case had accused Montgomery County state District Judge Kelly Case of being biased against them, and wanted someone else to handle the trial.
A recusal hearing was held in Houston Wednesday and it was ruled that Case will remain on the case.
Case was forced to apologize to attorneys after calling them "media whores" when Peterson made his first appearance in the courtroom two weeks ago. The judge said he meant the comment as a joke.
Peterson was indicted in September on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child after authorities said he hit his 4-year-old son with a switch.
The Minnesota Vikings originally deactivated the running back for their Week 2, then reinstated him afterwards. Later in the week, Peterson agreed to be placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list until his court case is resolved. He is banned from all team activities but will continue to collect his $11.75 million salary this season while he is inactive.
Peterson, 29, faces up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted on the charges. A tentative trial date of Dec. 1 has been set.
Even if he is cleared, Peterson could reportedly still face a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
- Molly Geary
