RYAN COLBERT
v.
TIFFANY COLBERT
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A motion to disqualify a trial judge must be granted if the facts alleged would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial, regardless of the judge's own confidence in their impartiality.
[1] A trial judge must grant a motion to disqualify if the facts alleged would cause a reasonably prudent person to question the judge's impartiality, applying an objective s…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“When a court rules on the legal sufficiency of a motion for disqualification, it must consider whether the facts alleged would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial.”
The court cited Davis v. State for the governing standard that disqualification motions are evaluated objectively, not based on a judge's self-assessment of impartiality.
Ryan Colbert filed a petition for writ of prohibition challenging a trial court judge's handling of a family law matter in Orange County.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
Case No. 6D2026-2066 Lower Tribunal No. 2024-DR-001292-O
RYAN COLBERT, Petitioner,
V.
TIFFANY COLBERT, Respondent.
Petition for Writ of Prohibition to the Circuit Court for Orange County.
October 7, 2026
PRATT, J.
Having reviewed the petition for writ of prohibition, the response, the reply, and the appendices thereto, we determine that the motion for disqualification directed to the initial trial court judge is legally sufficient. See Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.330(h) ("If the motion [to disqualify] is legally sufficient, the [initial trial court] judge shall immediately enter an order granting disqualification and proceed no further in the action."); Davis v. State, 347 So. 3d 315, 322 (Fla. 2022) ("When a court rules on the legal sufficiency of a motion for disqualification, it must consider whether the facts alleged would place a reasonably prudent person in fear
of not receiving a fair and impartial trial. Rather than questioning a judge's perception of his or her ability to act fairly and impartially, a motion for disqualification focuses on those matters from which a litigant may reasonably question a judge's impartiality. Even if a judge, therefore, is confident that he or she can preside with no bias, the judge must grant a motion to disqualify if a reasonably prudent person could question his or her impartiality." (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)). We therefore grant the petition for writ of prohibition and remand with instructions to the Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit to reassign the case to a successor trial court judge.
PETITION GRANTED; REMANDED with instructions.
WOZNIAK and MIZE, JJ., concur.
Allison Morat, of The Brownlee Law Firm, P.A., Orlando, for Petitioner.
Tiffany Colbert, Orlando, pro se.