The judge overseeing the criminal cases for the remaining Jena 6 defendants has been removed against his will for making questionable remarks about the teenagers.
The Associated Press said Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. had acknowledged calling the teens "trouble makers" and "a violent bunch" but insisted he could be impartial. Defense attorneys disagreed and asked that he be removed.
Six Black teens were arrested and initially charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a 2006 attack on a White student; the charges were later reduced.
Mychal Bell is the only member of the group that has been tried. After an appeals court ordered Bell tried as a juvenile, he pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree battery.
The case aggravated racial tensions in the tiny Louisiana town of Jena and led to a massive civil rights demonstration last September.
