Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Maria Dantos has refused defense attorney John Waldron’s request for recusal in the upcoming murder trial of his client, Jamie Lynn Silvonek, 14.

Earlier this month Waldron filed a petition asking Dantos to step down from the bench claiming she had already decided on his client’s guilt.

Waldron noted that within that document, “the trial judge informed the public, before a fair and impartial trial” of her opinion regarding multiple facets of his client’s case.

“The trial judge made statements regarding its hostility and certainty of guilt toward the defendant,” Waldron’s petition read, “The trial judge has a fixed and substantial bias against the defendant.”

In a derisive opinion from the bench, Dantos denied the accusations, calling them “legally and factually incorrect.”

She added, “The court filed a written opinion based upon the evidence placed before me at your request,” referring to the request for decertification hearing which led to the subsequent written order.

“The order was made public by the newspaper, not the court,” she said, noting while the entire opinion is public record, the media chose which quotes to print.

Waldron argued in court Dec. 18: “When you read your opinion, it almost comes off like it was a non-jury trial. It’s clear you convicted her of homicide.”

“Your impartiality can be reasonably questioned under the canons of ethics … I think you’ve gone beyond the bounds of decertification and convicted her in your opinion.”

Dantos concluded, “The petition is without merit,” and went on to cite several precedent court cases which note that judicial rulings alone are rarely a cause for recusal.

““In rare events they (judicial rulings) may be grounds for an appeal, but not for recusal.”

Claiming she has no bias against his client, she added a verdict will be decided not by her, but by a jury.

Dantos also issued a gag order in both the Silvonek and Barnes cases.

The ruling was in favor of a petition filed by the commonwealth calling for a special order governing a sensational case.

Dantos ordered that anyone connected with the Jamie Silvonek and Caleb Barnes cases may not speak publicly, specifically not to the media.

“Cases are tried in courtrooms, that’s the way it should be,” said Dantos, referring to the public opinion she claims can be tainted by attorneys and family members speaking to the press.