THE STATE OF FLORIDA EX REL., LAWRENCE R. METSCH, AND DANIEL L. METSCH, PETITIONERS,
v.
PAMELA TRAEGER, RESPONDENT
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Court denied a writ of prohibition seeking to disqualify a trial judge based on the judge's appointment as a referee in a disciplinary action against opposing counsel, holding that such appointment alone does not establish the personal bias required for disqualification under judicial conduct rules.
A judge's appointment as a referee in a disciplinary action against opposing counsel does not warrant disqualification unless the judge has personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or party's lawyer.
[1] A judge's appointment as a referee in a disciplinary proceeding against opposing counsel does not require disqualification absent a showing of personal bias or prejudice…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioners Lawrence R. Metsch and Daniel L. Metsch sought to disqualify a trial court judge who had been appointed to serve as a referee in a discipl…
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PER CURIAM.
Petitioners Lawrence R. Metsch and Daniel L. Metsch seek a writ of prohibition to prevent the trial court judge from presiding over the case subsequent to the judge’s appointment to serve as a referee in a disciplinary action before the Florida Bar and filed against respondent Pamela Traeger’s counsel below. We deny the petition. Canon 3(E)(1), Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, requires that a judge disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. See Tower Group, Inc. v. Doral Enters. Joint Ventures, 760 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (disqualification appropriate where attorney had been the trial judge’s opponent in acrimonious re-election campaign); Town Centre of Islamorada, Inc. v. Overby, 592 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992) (extrajudicial dispute between counsel and the trial judge warranted disqualification).
Generally, the trial court judge’s duties as a referee in a disciplinary action filed against an attorney would be insufficient grounds for disqualification unless it can be shown that “the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or a party’s lawyer[.]” Fla.Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3E(1)(a).
See 5-H Corp. v. Padovano, 708 So. 2d 244, 248 (Fla.1997).
This case is further removed because it is respondent’s counsel, not the petitioners’ counsel, who has the pending disciplinary proceeding.
We therefore deny the petition.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- 5-H Corp. v. Padovano, 708 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 1997)
- Town Ctr. OF Islamorada, Inc. v. The Honorable J. Jefferson Overby, 592 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- The Tower Grp., Inc. v. Doral Enters. Joint Ventures, 760 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)