Former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles's motion to disqualify the judge presiding over his murder case was rejected Thursday.

Jerry Wiese, the chief judge for the Clark County District Court, gave his ruling in court after hearing an argument from Telles regarding Judge Michelle Leavitt.

Telles is representing himself after his previous attorney, Damien Sheets, filed to withdraw as counsel. During the hearing for the withdrawal, Leavitt questioned Telles about his decision to represent himself for about 30 minutes.

Telles had argued in a motion filed this month and in court on Thursday that Leavitt's conduct was inappropriate. He said he believed she was trying to embarrass him into withdrawing his decision.

Wiese disagreed, saying judges often advise against self-representation and that Leavitt did not demonstrate any bias.

"The fact that she spent quite a bit of time going through that [questioning] and suggesting it wasn't in your best interest is probably the same thing most judges would do," he said.

Wiese added that he understood why Telles took offense to Leavitt's questioning, but he said the record did not reflect any "deep-seated favoritism or antagonism."

Authorities allege Telles killed Review-Journal reporter Jeff German outside German's last year. Police said they recovered evidence from Telles's home and found his DNA on German's body during an autopsy.

Prosecutors have argued that German's reporting on allegations of misconduct in the public administrator's office led to Telles losing his bid for re-election in last year's Democratic primary, giving him the motive to carry out the attack.

Telles has pleaded not guilty to a charge of open murder where the victim is an older person. He remains held at Clark County Detention Center without bail, and trial is currently scheduled to begin in November.

While Telles worked as a private practice attorney prior to being elected as public administrator, he specialized in probate law, not criminal matters. His law license has also been suspended in a separate case over allegations that he mishandled clients' funds.