JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Judge London Kite refused Thursday to step aside from the Shanna Gardner murder case after both prosecutors and Jared Bridegan’s widow asked her to recuse herself over her handling of a dispute involving Kirsten Bridegan’s cellphone.
Kite denied separate motions filed by the State of Florida and Kirsten Bridegan, ruling that both were legally insufficient. The judge did not address the factual allegations in detail.
Gardner, Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse in the February 2022 ambush shooting that left Bridegan dead on a dark stretch of road in Jacksonville Beach.
Her trial is now set for May 2027.
Gardner’s second husband, Mario Fernandez, was convicted last month of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in Bridegan’s death.
Ahead of her trial, Gardner’s defense team has been seeking private messages and other information from Kirsten Bridegan’s phone and social media accounts that attorneys said could be relevant to Gardner’s defense.
Bridegan, a potential prosecution witness, opposed the request. Her attorney, Douglas Clifton, argued that Florida’s victims’ rights law, known as Marsy’s Law, protects her from harassment, intimidation and the disclosure of private information.
But Kite ordered Bridegan to turn over her cellphone by 9 a.m. Aug. 21. and denied Bridegan’s request to stay the cellphone order shortly before the deadline.
When Bridegan did not turn over the phone, Kite interrupted the Fernandez trial and held an emergency hearing. Gardner’s attorneys then asked the judge to begin contempt proceedings against Bridegan.
Kite scheduled a contempt hearing for later that day. Before it could take place, the Fifth District Court of Appeal imposed a stay.
The State and Kirsten Bridegan argued in their motions to have Kite removed from the case that Kite’s handling of the cellphone dispute created an objectively reasonable fear that she could not fairly oversee future proceedings involving Kirsten Bridegan, including Gardner’s trial, in which Bridegan is expected to testify as a material witness for the prosecution.
Bridegan’s motion argued that Kite had appeared to prejudge whether Kirsten Bridegan should be held in criminal contempt. She cited the short deadline to surrender the phone, the judge’s refusal to wait for an appellate ruling and the decision to schedule a same-day contempt hearing.
The State’s motion said Kite’s words and conduct created the appearance that matters involving Kirsten Bridegan had been prejudged.
Prosecutors pointed to the rapid sequence of events, the interruption of Fernandez’s trial and the limited time Bridegan was given to prepare for the proposed contempt hearing.
The State said it was not seeking Kite’s removal simply because she had ruled against Bridegan. Instead, prosecutors argued that the combined circumstances created a reasonable fear that future proceedings involving Kirsten Bridegan would not be fair and impartial.
Kite denied both motions Thursday. Her order on Bridegan’s motion said the judge would continue to honor the stay imposed by the Fifth District. No further proceedings will take place until the appellate court issues another order.
The stay protects Bridegan from having to turn over her cellphone while the appeals court considers her petition. The appellate court previously extended the stay through the final disposition of that petition.
Kite’s rulings do not resolve whether Kirsten Bridegan must ultimately surrender her phone or whether she could face contempt proceedings.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.