HENRY MCDERMOTT AND LUCILLE MCDERMOTT, HIS WIFE, PETITIONERS,
v.
THE HONORABLE RHEA PINCUS GROSSMAN, JUDGE OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The trial court should have granted the petitioners' motion to disqualify the judge.
Petitioners' lawyer had opposed the judge's selection to other judicial positions. The judge allegedly responded with a 'tirade' to the lawyer about t…
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PER CURIAM.
Upon consideration of the petition for writ of prohibition, response thereto, briefs of amici curiae and argument of counsel we conclude that the.trial court should have granted petitioners’ Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.432 motion to disqualify.
Where a lawyer voices his opposition to the election of a judge, it is assumed that the judge will not thereafter harbor prejudice against the lawyer affecting the judge’s ability to be impartial in cases in which the lawyer is involved. See Raybon v. Burnette, 135 So. 2d 228 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). But where, as here, the petitioners’ motion to disqualify (the truth of which must be accepted) alleges that the respondent, having learned that the petitioners’ lawyer had opposed the judge’s selection to other judicial positions, delivered to the lawyer a “tirade” about his nonsupport of her,1 then an assumption of nonprejudice can no longer be made. While we agree with respondent that the other grounds for disqualification set forth in the motion do not justify giving the petitioners relief, one sufficient ground is all that is necessary. In our view, the judge’s alleged response to the lawyer’s action is such a ground and it, by itself, makes well-founded the petitioners’ stated fear that they would not receive fair and impartial treatment at the judge’s hands.
Finding that the moving papers are sufficient to require disqualification, see Hayslip v. Douglas, 400 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), and that the motion was filed without inordinate delay, we grant the writ of prohibition.
Writ issued and case remanded to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit with directions to blind file the case in accordance with established procedures.
. The respondent’s counsel contends that the word “tirade” is neutral and does not sufficiently connote prejudice. We disagree. For the definition of “tirade” and its synonyms, see the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1979).
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Honorable Mary Ann MacKENZIE v. Super Kids Bargain Store, Inc., 565 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 1990)…of an attorney practicing in a particular case before a judge with whom he or she has a specific and substantial political relationship." Id. at 629 (emphasis added). Another example may be found in the situation presented in McDermott v. Grossman, 429 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). As stated by the district court: Where a lawyer voices his opposition to the election of a judge, it is assumed that the judge will not thereafter harbor prejudice against the lawyer affecting the judge’s ability to be impartial…
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Breakstone v. Honorable Mary Ann MacKENZIE, 561 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…judicial elections. 135 So. 2d at 230. The responsibility to play an active part does not, however, translate into an immunity from disqualification when the facts presented otherwise warrant it. Respondent likewise relies on McDermott v. Grossman, 429 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), and Marexcelso Compania Naviera, S.A. v. Florida National Bank, 533 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988), both of which are inapplicable here. In McDermott, 429 So. 2d at 393-94, an attorney opposed the election of a judge, who deliver…1 / 2
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Town Ctr. OF Islamorada, Inc. v. The Honorable J. Jefferson Overby, 592 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…tes that client’s attorney “should not be in this case.” Hayslip v. Douglas, 400 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); the judge delivers a tirade about the lawyer’s opposition to the judge’s appointment to other judicial positions, McDermott v. Grossman, 429 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); or where attorneys for petitioners had testified against the judge at impeachment proceedings brought against the judge. Brewton v. Kelly, 166 So. 2d 834 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964). We conclude that the allegations in the verified motio…
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- Hayslip v. The Honorable Paul T. Douglas, 400 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Raybon v. Burnette, 135 So. 2d 228 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)