DragonCon founder Ed Kramer has cleared the Gwinnett bench of judges who can preside over his case alleging his trial judge and the district attorney colluded against him.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Kathryn Schrader became the last of the 10 non-retired judges to step aside from the case, clearing away for an outside judge to be appointed.
Kramer is arguing his 2013 plea deal, in which he agreed to 34 more months of house arrest in Duluth and a lifetime of probation, should be set aside in his child molestation case.
Kramer has accused Gwinnett District attorney Danny Porter of improperly colluding with Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers, the trial judge who took his plea, to re-open his case when it had been effectively closed in 2009 after a hearing on issues surrounding Kramer’s health.
Beyers effectively gave Kramer the authority to decide when he was healthy enough to go to trial, argues Kramer’s lawyer Stephen Reba in a court filing in October to set aside the plea.
Porter disputed Reba’s interpretation of the 2009 order but recused himself from handling the legal challenge in court because he is a witness.
The judges have been dropping off the case since Reba filed a motion in October arguing Beyers' fellow judges should recuse themselves.
The Gwinnett circuit has two retired judges who technically could still be appointed to hear the case.
Kramer no longer has any association with the popular sci-fi and pop culture convention DragonCon, that populates downtown Atlanta with outlandish costumes on Labor Day weekend.
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