IN THE INTEREST OF I.K., JR., A CHILD. I.K., JR., PETITIONER,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, RESPONDENT
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Florida appellate court granted petition for writ of prohibition because circuit judge violated Rule of Judicial Administration 2.160(f) by refuting factual allegations of bias rather than merely determining legal sufficiency of disqualification motion.
A circuit judge who attempts to refute factual claims of bias in a disqualification motion exceeds the proper scope of inquiry and establishes grounds for disqualification.
[1] A circuit judge who attempts to refute factual allegations of bias in a disqualification motion rather than merely determining legal sufficiency exceeds the proper scope…
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Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.160(f) standard for judicial response to disqualification motions
I.K., Jr. filed a motion to disqualify the circuit judge and alleged facts suggesting bias. The circuit judge issued a seventeen-page order denying th…
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PER CURIAM.
Contending that the circuit court should have granted a motion for disqualification, I.K., Jr., petitions this court for a writ of prohibition. We have jurisdiction. See Zuchel v. State, 824 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). We conclude that the order denying the motion for disqualification did not comply with Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.160(f). Therefore, we grant the petition and issue the writ of prohibition.
Upon the filing of a motion to disqualify, the circuit judge “shall determine only the legal sufficiency of the motion and shall not pass on the truth of the facts alleged.” Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.160(f). Here, in his seventeen-page order, the circuit judge went beyond merely determining the legal sufficiency of the motion and even refuted factual claims of bias made by I.K., Jr. When a judge has looked beyond the mere legal sufficiency of a suggestion of prejudice and attempted to refute the charges of partiality, he has exceeded the proper scope of his inquiry and on that basis alone established grounds for his disqualification. Bundy v. Rudd, 366 So. 2d 440, 442 (Fla.1978).
Accordingly, we grant the petition and remand the cause with directions to grant the motion for disqualification.
Petition granted.
FULMER, DAVIS, and KELLY, JJ., concur.
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Wagner v. State, 342 So. 3d 712 (Fla. 2d DCA 2022)…nding an independent basis for disqualification where, at the hearing on the motion, the trial judge "improperly attempted to refute facts that [petitioner] alleged as a basis for believing that she would not receive a fair trial"); In re I.K., Jr., 869 So. 2d 579, 579 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) ("[I]n his seventeen-page order, the circuit judge went beyond merely determining the legal sufficiency of the motion and even refuted factual claims made by I.K., Jr. . . . [O]n that basis alone [the circuit judge] establis…
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Rieger v. State, 884 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)…proper and must be reversed. Rieger must be resentenced on the trafficking offense. We again certify that Taylor and Green conflict with State v. Franklin, 836 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 3d DCA), review granted, 854 So. 2d 659 (Fla.2003). See Adams v. State, 869 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003), proceedings stayed, no. SC03-2293 (Fla. April 22, 2004). Convictions affirmed, sentences affirmed except for mandatory minimum sentence which is reversed and remanded for resen-tencing, and conflicts certified. STRINGER and C…
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Stephenson v. Tayna Poruba, 255 So. 3d 825 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)…Petitioner's petition for a writ prohibiting Judge Jack Helingerfrom presiding further in circuit court case number 11-14772-FD-12 is granted. See Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(f) ; In re I.K., Jr., 869 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 2d DCA2003). Accordingly, the chief judge shall immediately appoint a successor judge pursuant to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b)(4). LaROSE, C.J., and SILBERMAN and SALARIO, JJ., Concur.…
Authorities Cited
- THE Florida BAR v. Sanford Freed, 366 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 1978)
- Zuchel v. State, 824 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)