All Kings County judges recuse themselves in manslaughter case involving one of their own

Several Kings County Superior Court judges have recused themselves involving a criminal case of one of their own.

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta charged Judge Kendra D. Weber with a single misdemeanor count for allegedly killing a bicyclist in September 2025 on a road southeast of Hanford.

Court filings on Friday showed the other eight county judges and one commissioner filed recusals. A DOJ spokesperson told The Fresno Bee on Tuesday the move was expected, with an out-of-town judge likely to hear the case.

The court docket does not reveal a date for Weber’s arraignment, nor a listed her attorney.

The recusal list includes judges Robert Shane Burns, Jim A. Trevino, Rise A. Donlon, Jennifer Giuliani, Kathy Ciuffini, Melissa D’Morias, Ismael Rodriguez, Marianne Caprice Gilbert, and Commissioner Mark Skinner.

If convicted, Weber could face one year in jail.

Weber remains working

Weber remains on the job.

“Judge Weber continues to serve in her family law assignment. Court operations remain stable, and all judicial services are continuing without interruption. The Court remains committed to judicial independence and to maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice,” Court Executive Officer Nocona Soboleski said in a statement to The Bee.

Weber is charged with one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in the Sept. 15, 2025, death of bicyclist Bryan Leroy Garcia, 63.

The CHP — which investigated the accident on Hanford Armona Road, east of 16th Avenue — said the driver approached the rear of a bicyclist, striking him. The bicyclist fell off and was pronounced deceased on the scene.

The two-page complaint said that Weber killed Garcia “while driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, but without gross negligence; and while driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death in an unlawful manner, but without gross negligence.”

The unlawful act in this context usually means a driving infraction and not impaired driving. A lieutenant for the CHP said drugs and alcohol were not factors in the case.