George Zimmerman’s defense team filed a motion Friday asking that Judge Kenneth Lester be disqualified from the case, stating the judge made “gratuitous, disparaging remarks” about Zimmerman’s character.

O’Mara also stated Lester advocated for Zimmerman to prosecuted for additional crimes, offers a personal opinion about the evidence for the prosecution, and continues to hold the threat of future contempt proceedings over Zimmerman’s head.

All of these actions, O’Mara stated, has led Zimmerman to believe he will not receive a fair trial if Lester is kept on as judge.

Furthermore, O’Mara specifically targeted Lester’s order for bond, released Thursday of last week, stating, “The Court fails to weigh any of this evidence of innocence in its evaluation of bail…”

Perception that the system is fair, O’Mara said, is key for the confidence in the judicial system.

“It would be hard to imagine a situation where it would not be more important that the public and the accused believe in the fairness of the process regardless of the outcome,” O’Mara wrote. “They public has already become involved in this discussion given the high interest it has taken in the case and the ready access to Internet forums for expressing those views.”

This is the second motion to disqualify a judge O’Mara has filed since Zimmerman was charged with the second-degree murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. O’Mara requested the originally assigned judge, Judge Jessica Recksiedler, be disqualified after she announced she may have a conflict of interest in the case.