UPDATE: A fourth Gwinnett judge has recused himself from deciding whether there is any evidence that District Attorney Danny Porter and Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers improperly colluded to bring to a convicted child molester to trial.
Ed Kramer, co-founder of DragonCon, the annual sci-fi and fantasy convention in Atlanta, wants to the court to scrap the plea bargain he entered last year, contending it is a product of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.
Superior Court Judge Warren Davis recused himself Thursday, said Angela Woodruff, who coordinates the judge’s court cases. She was not certain what reason Davis — who was unavailable for comment — gave for stepping aside.
Davis’ recusal means a third of the Gwinnett judicial bench has declared itself unqualified to hear the case, bringing Kramer and his attorney Stephen Reba’s closer to their stated goal of disqualifying the bench in favor of an outside judge.
Attempts to reach Reba for comment immediately were unsuccessful.
ORIGINAL REPORT TODAY: The shear longevity of the molestation case against a founder of DragonCon made it impossible to have a hearing in one Gwinnett courtroom.
Superior Court Judge Tom Davis told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday he removed himself from hearing the case because he had formerly been a chief assistant district attorney for DA Danny Porter.
“And I’ve been on the bench for almost nine years — this case is that old,” Davis said. “I know things that the judge on the case should not know.”
Probably from Porter himself, who has had some choice epithets for Edward Eliot Kramer, now 53, although the judge would likely hear far worse now if he was still prosecuting.
Kramer, the former face of DragonCon, the annual sci-fi and fantasy convention in Atlanta, is trying to break the plea agreement he entered last December. Kramer received 34 months of house arrest and a lifetime probation for molesting three boys ages 13 to 15, more than 14 years ago.
Kramer and his attorney Stephen Reba filed paperwork in October challenging the plea agreement. They contend Porter and the trial judge, Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers, colluded to improperly open Kramer's case which was effectively closed in 2009 due to his health issues.
Kramer may have feared the plea could ultimately work against him; Porter had continued to pursue him for any perceived violations that could put him in prison for the entire 60-year sentence. In July, Porter said he was investigating whether Kramer had violated the plea agreement — and was therefore at risk of serving the entire sentence — by having contact with a 14-year-old girl in Australia via Twitter. No resolution was announced but Porter acknowledged then he had few facts in the case.
Reba is trying to disqualify all dozen judges on the Gwinnett bench from hearing the case to set aside the plea, a demand Beyers denied shortly before she recused herself early last month.
Davis and Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor dropped out of contention just before Thanksgiving. Batchelor has not given the AJC a reason for stepping aside from the case. Porter also recused himself because he will be called as a witness.
The case now is with Superior Judge Warren Davis who has not yet said where he plans to keep the case.
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