By Christopher Williams,Staff Writer

AUBURN – The judge presiding over the case of a Sabattus man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend says she won’t allow a hearing on whether she should step aside.

Superior Court Justice Joyce Wheeler declined earlier to recuse herself in the case of murder suspect Daniel Roberts. His lawyer, Leonard Sharon, persisted, asking that Wheeler allow a different judge to hear his arguments for why she should bow out.

But Wheeler rejected that request also, explaining this week that the basis for his motion had no bearing on her ability “to conduct a fair and impartial jury trial.”

Her decision came as no surprise.

“I didn’t expect to get a hearing,” Sharon said Thursday.

He had claimed in court papers filed in Androscoggin County Superior Court that Wheeler’s neutrality in the case might be questioned because of her “substantial prior work as an advocate for victims of domestic violence” while she served as a Maine District Court judge.

Because the state’s case against Roberts involves “extensive allegations of domestic violence,” Sharon wrote that Wheeler’s history as a possible advocate should be explored at a hearing before another judge.

In her first denial of Sharon’s motion, Wheeler wrote the suggestion that her past actions have “compromised her ability and impartiality to decide issues involving domestic violence is absurd and must be rejected.”

With Wheeler’s latest denial, Sharon said he is pondering his next move. He could:

• file a writ of mandamus with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, asking that it order Wheeler to grant the motion to hold a hearing on her recusal before a different judge;

• file an appeal with the high court of Wheeler’s decision not to recuse herself; or

• use Wheeler’s rulings later as possible grounds for appeal should Roberts be convicted.

Wheeler also dismissed Sharon’s request to throw out the grand jury indictment against Roberts because prosecutors, he claimed, had failed to offer evidence favorable to his client.

In response to other motions filed in this case, Wheeler called for a hearing on Sharon’s request that the trial be moved to another county.

She also ordered a hearing on the state’s motion to set aside attorney/client privilege that existed between the victim, Melissa Mendoza, and her lawyers before her death so they can testify about an ongoing custody dispute.

Roberts, 36, admitted killing 29-year-old Mendoza with a gunshot to the back of her head. He claimed she had come to his home to kill him. He said he was defending himself and their 2-year-old daughter Savannah Marie Roberts. The parents had been embroiled in a custody dispute at the time of the killing.

Copy the Story Link