FRANK COBO, APPELLANT,
v.
JACQUELINE PEPPER, INDIVIDUALLY; THE HONORABLE LAWRENCE KING, AS CHAIR, ET AL., APPELLEES
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The judge's offer to recuse demonstrated bias and prejudgment, rendering subsequent rulings, including the summary judgment, invalid.
[1] A judge's spontaneous offer to recuse herself demonstrates awareness of bias and prejudgment of a case.
[2] A judge who has prejudged a case should decline to officiate further proceedings.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring a hearing on case management, the judge announced a ruling on a motion to dismiss, stating the case was moot and had been litigated twice. The …
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SHEVIN, Judge.
Frank Cobo appeals a final summary judgment entered in his election contest suit challenging Jacqueline Pepper’s election to the office of Miami Dade County School Board Member, District 7. We reverse.
At the beginning of the hearing on the parties’ notices for case management and status conferences, the judge stated:
There is no point in having a status conference. I am telling you now this is my ruling.
My ruling is, if there is a motion to dismiss, I granted it. This is moot. It’s been litigated. I have ruled on it twice and I am not awarding a new election. So now if you are uncomfortable with that, I will recuse myself and you can take it elsewhere, but I am not going to do anything else in this case.
Despite this announcement, the judge denied Cobo’s ore terms motion for recusal and later denied a written recusal motion. Thereafter, the judge granted summary judgment in Pepper’s favor. Here, as in Pistorino v. Ferguson, 386 So. 2d 65, 66 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), the judge’s spontaneous offer to recuse herself evidences her awareness of being biased and of having prejudged this case. The judge should have declined to officiate any further. Barnett v. Barnett, 727 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied 735 So. 2d 1283 (Fla.1999); Wargo v. Wargo, 669 So. 2d 1123 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Gonzalez v. Goldstein, 633 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).
Because we hold that the judge should have granted the ore tenus recusal motion, the judge’s subsequent rulings, including the summary judgment, were without authority and are hereby vacated. Crosby v. State, 97 So. 2d 181 (Fla.1957); Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. Sentinel Star Co., 273 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 277 So. 2d 534 (Fla.1973). On remand, we respectfully advise the trial judge to whom this case is assigned to treat this matter expeditiously in view of the implications of the issues involved. This opinion shall take effect immediately notwithstanding the filing of a motion for rehearing.
Final summary judgment reversed; cause remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Radames Borrego, 105 So. 3d 616 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…. see also Deloach v. State, 911 So. 2d 888, 888 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) (holding that where the trial judge offered to recuse himself and the appellant accepted the offer to disqualify, the trial judge should have fulfilled the offer); Cobo v. Pepper, 779 So. 2d 599, 600 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001) (concluding disqualification was required and stating that “the judge’s spontaneous offer to recuse herself evidences her awareness of being biased and of having prejudiced this case. The judge should have declined to officia…1 / 2
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State v. Ambrose Dixon and Johan Matienzo, 217 So. 3d 1115 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…against Dixon. Because we conclude that the trial judge should have granted the motion to disqualify, his subsequent rulings were without authority and are hereby vacated. See State v. Borrego, 105 So. 3d 616, 621 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013); Cobo v. Pepper, 779 So. 2d 599, 600 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001). B. State v. Matienzo, Appellate Case Numbers 3D17-158 and 3D17-159 We grant the petition for writ of certio-rari filed in appellate case number 3D17-158, quash the January 9, 2017 order under review, and remand for reassig…
Authorities Cited
- Wargo v. Bettina Li Belles Wargo and Julie Koenig, 669 So. 2d 1123 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Ferguson v. State, 633 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Crosby v. State, 97 So. 2d 181 (Fla. 1957)
- Barnett v. Barnett, 727 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)
- Pistorino v. Ferguson, 386 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Damon v. State, 273 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973)
- Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. Sentinel Star Co., 273 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973)
- Rittenbery v. Eddins, 277 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 1973)
- State v. Carnivale, 277 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 1973)