An application from attorneys representing Reverend Al Miller to have Resident Magistrate (RM) Georgianna Fraser recuse herself from the case was denied in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Miller, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges of perverting the course of justice and harbouring a fugitive, will have to return to court on March 23, for trial.

Wentworth Charles and Leslie Campbell, attorneys representing Miller, wanted RM Fraser to remove herself from the case because they argued that she heard the proceedings involving Christopher Dudus Coke waiving his rights to an extradition hearing in Jamaica and had signed the arrest warrant for him.

Miller's attorneys pointed out that they were not accusing the RM of bias, but they argued that due to her involvement in the matter she should not be the judge to hear the trial.

A request from Miller's attorneys for a stay of the RM's ruling was also denied and they told the court that they would be taking the matter to the Judicial Review Court.

Allegations are that in June last year Miller was escorting then fugitive Coke to the United States Embassy in Kingston, when he was apprehended by the police along the Mandela Highway in St. Catherine.