Jason Carter’s lawyers in the Bill Carter vs Jason Carter civil trial filed a motion Friday for Judge Martha Mertz, who presides over the trial, to recuse herself from the pending motion to vacate the guilty verdict. According to the motion, Jason Carters legal team says attorney Deborah Johnson claims to have had a conversation with Mertz shortly after the March 2019 aquital of Carter in the first degree murder trial of his mother Shirley Carter. According to Johnson the conversation occurred in the Jasper County courthouse at which time Mertz allegedly told Johnson that “Jason Carter was guilty as sin.” In another statement included with the motion a person identified as Scott Pace stated that he attended portions of he civil trial in December of 2017 which Mertz presided over, at which time he witnessed Mertz talking with Marion County Attorney Ed Bull and attorneys for Bill Carter alone, not in the presence of Jason Carter’s attorneys, in the law library attached to the Marion County courtroom.

In the December 2017 civil trial, Carter was found civilly responsible for the death of his mother Shirley Carter and was ordered to pay $10 million to the Shirley Carter estate. In December of 2019 Jason Carter filed a federal lawsuit against Agent Mark Ludwick with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, Marion County, Marion County Deputy Reed Kious in his individual capacity and Jason Carter’s father Bill Carter.