The Jacksonville attorney accused of racketeering and gambling-related crimes because of his work in the internet cafe industry does not want Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston to take part in the case.
Lawyers for Kelly Mathis filed a motion Friday requesting Polston disqualify himself from the case.
The request is based on a search warrant Polston signed in 2013 for Mathis’ law office as part of an investigation into illegal gambling in the internet cafe industry.
In an affidavit filed Friday along with the disqualification motion, Mathis contended authorities used false information to get Polston’s approval of the search warrant.
The affidavit said the information would have led Polston to form an “adverse opinion” about Mathis.
“In good faith, I do not believe that the extremely negative first impression created by the search warrant affidavit (filed by a law enforcement officer) can be overcome by a reasonable person,” Mathis said in the affidavit. “To do so would be akin to asking Justice Polston to ‘unring the bell’ in order to consider the issues in this case in a wholly neutral manner.”
The 5th District Court of Appeal in October ruled Mathis should receive a new trial after he was convicted on 103 charges stemming from his work for Allied Veterans of the World, which operated dozens of internet cafes that were raided and shut down in 2013 because of illegal gambling allegations.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office this month took the case to the Supreme Court.
Mathis, a former president of The Jacksonville Bar Association, was an attorney for Allied Veterans of the World.
But he faced the criminal charges because prosecutors said he “knowingly provided false legal advice” about the internet cafes, according to the appeals court ruling.
Mathis’ affidavit said information in the search warrant affidavit from Seminole County Sheriff’s Department Capt. James “Sammy” Gibson was “clearly recognized” by the appellate court to be inconsistent with evidence at trial.
“Captain Gibson took great effort in the affidavit to paint an extremely negative picture of Kelly B. Mathis, as a result of gross misperception or deliberate intent, by characterizing me as a leader of a multimillion-dollar gambling ring,” Mathis’ affidavit said.
He pointed out the appellate court “recognized I served only as the attorney and provided only legal representation to my clients.”