The defense team for the 8 received word last week that Judge Salvador Rosas, previously selected to hear the case, has decided to recuse himself. Judges are required to step down from a case by recusing themselves when they feel a conflict of interest exists. Rosas hasn’t said what exactly the conflict of interest is, and it appears that legally, he doesn’t have to.

This development means that the motion hearing previously scheduled for January 26 won’t be taking place, and a date will need to be set for assigning a new judge from the list of judges deemed acceptable by both the prosecution and defense. We’ll post an update as soon as we know what the next date will be.

Rosas was the same judge who declined to order jail time for another RNC felony arrestee in December.

Lead Prosecutor Susan Gaertner said last week that she hopes for a speedy resolution - which clearly doesn’t matter, because the system she works for is set up to prevent just that, holding political organizers in limbo regardless of anyone’s hopes. The easiest path to a speedy and just resolution, of course, would be for Gaertner to admit her mistake and drop the charges now.

Tags: ramsey county attorney, RNC 8, RNC Eight, RNC8, salvador rosas, Susan Gaertner, susan gaertner for governor