People disqualification of Judge Neel challenged by defense in Daryl Jones' case

**I reported on this in 2023.**

On an extremely busy morning, with multiple cases on in different courtrooms, I chose to cover the Daryl Jones hearing first. Humboldt Superior Court Presiding Judge Kelly Neel made a dislosure. It is my choice not to name her daughter even though she stated on record. She is a child and as judge's daughter, extra caution is necessary.

People explained why 170.1 wasn't filed and said they are exercising 170.6. Defense challenged it. Now we are waiting for Humboldt Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning to hear the challenge and whether it gets sent back to Judge Neel or not. Defense asked for time to get documentation from court about DA's blanket disqualification of Judge Neel. I wrote about this in 2023. I will add more details later. There was a lot said including defense bringing up recent Supreme Court ruling on 170.6.

No other media was there except KRCR.

"In J.O. v. Superior Court (2026) 80 Cal.App.5th / ___ Cal.5th ___, the California Supreme Court ruled that courts can now look behind peremptory judicial disqualification motions (under CCP § 170.6) if there is a prima facie showing of bad-faith "blanket" challenges aimed at removing a specific judge.Prior to this unanimous decision, a § 170.6 challenge was virtually automatic; filing an affidavit or oral statement asserting prejudice meant the judge had to be reassigned without any inquiry. The new landmark ruling drastically changes how courts can handle repeat challenges." --summary on Google from Justia Law and Wilmer Law.

No other media was there except KRCR.