A judge on Wednesday denied a motion by former Adult Education Coordinator Monique Acevedo's lawyer to take the Monroe County State Attorney's Office off the case.

Public Defender Trish Docherty had asked Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones to disqualify the county prosecutor's office, claiming public comments by State Attorney Dennis Ward and Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson had poisoned the community against Acevedo.

"The problem centers with the elected prosecutor," Docherty said as Ward sat in the last row of the courtroom with colleagues.

Because Ward is the elected head of the office, she argued that Wilson and the entire staff should be disqualified.

"[Prosecutors] should not make comments about their belief in a defendant's guilt," Docherty told the judge.

"I've never said that Mrs. Acevedo is guilty," Ward said after the hearing.

Docherty outlined several events in her motion that should lead to prosecutors' disqualification:

• Both Ward and Wilson, Docherty argued, "have stated their belief in the guilt of the defendant and that the defendant will eventually plead guilty;"

• Statements to The Citizen about prosecutors' willingness to "compromise prison time in exchange for payments of large sums of money" are confidential and assume Acevedo's guilt;

• By being quoted in a published article about seeking School Board members' input on a proper sentence for Acevedo, Wilson "prejudicially tainted the whole pool of potential jurors," her motion reads; and

• Ward said on a live radio show that Docherty's motion to disqualify him was "written like a seventh-grader and was unethical," Docherty told The Citizen after the hearing.

Wilson told the judge that even if he conceded that statements made by prosecutors were prejudicial, "which I don't concede," removing prosecutors was not the answer.

"This is not a remedy for poor judgment; it's a misapplication of prejudice," he told the judge. "Many criminal defendants find themselves in this position" of public opinion against them.

After arguments, the judge left the court for 10 minutes and emerged with a decision.

The judge acknowledged Docherty's concerns about plea negotiations being made public and her worries about pretrial publicity, but he determined that prosecutors' and Ward's published statements did not deny Acevedo her right to an unbiased jury or a fair trial.

"I've never before seen as many quotes from the State Attorney's Office as I have in this case," the judge said. "The question is, 'What is the actual prejudice the defendant has suffered in the increased level of publication?' I am not able to find possible prejudice at this point. There is no basis to disqualify [the prosecutors]."

The judge also said it's too early to discuss holding the trial in another city to pick jurors from another community, known as a change of venue. He said the court would first try to assemble a jury in Key West should Acevedo's case go to trial.

The judge, Wilson and Docherty will hold a case management hearing at 4 p.m. today to set a trial date.

jguerra@keysnews.com