RICHARD JOSEPH SCHISLER, PETITIONER,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The court held that a motion to disqualify a judge must be ruled on within 30 days of service, and failure to do so results in the motion being deemed granted.
[1] A motion to disqualify a judge must be ruled on within 30 days of service, or it is deemed granted.
[2] The burden to rule on a motion for judicial disqualification within 30 days rests with the court, not the litigants.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRichard Schisler filed a motion to disqualify Judge Lawrence A. Schwartz. The motion was heard and denied 32 days after filing and service. Schisler p…
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WELLS, J.
Richard Joseph Schisler petitions for a writ of mandamus to direct the trial court to quash an order denying his motion to disqualify Judge Lawrence A. Schwartz, claiming the Judge’s ruling was untimely under Rule 2.330(j) of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration. We agree that because the trial court’s order was untimely under the rule, Schisler’s petition should be granted.
On December 8, 2006, Schisler filed a motion to disqualify Judge Lawrence A. Schwartz, claiming bias on the part of this judge. The motion was filed with the clerk of the circuit court and served by hand delivery on Judge Schwartz on the same day. According to a notation on the CJIS docket sheet, three days later, the motion was set for hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 9, 2007, by Victor Wain-stein, the attorney who filed the motion to disqualify on Schisler’s behalf. As scheduled, the motion was heard on January 9, 2007- — 32 days after it was filed and served — and denied. Schisler now maintains that this matter must be reassigned because his motion was not ruled on within 30 days. We agree and grant relief.
Rule 2.330(j), as amended in 2005, expressly states that a motion to disqualify must be ruled on immediately and no later than 30 days after service under subsection (c) of the rule. This rule also provides that disqualification results upon the failure to rule on a disqualification motion within 30 days of service of the motion:
(j) Time for Determination. The judge shall rule on a motion to disqualify immediately, but no later than 30 days after the service of the motion as set forth in subdivision (c). If not ruled on within 30 days of service, the motion shall be deemed granted and the moving party may seek an order from the court directing the clerk to reassign the case.
Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(J).1
The trial court’s failure to rule on Schis-ler’s motion within 30 days of its service therefore entitles Schisler to an order directing the clerk of the court to reassign this case. This is so even though the record confirms that the ruling was one day late, apparently because Schisler’s attorney acquiesced in having the motion set for hearing outside the 30 day time frame.2 In Tableau Fine Art Group, Inc. v. Jacoboni, 853 So. 2d 299, 302-03 (Fla.2003), the Florida Supreme Court first imposed a bright-line 30 day rule on disqualification orders.3 It also confirmed that the burden is on the court, not the litigants, to assure a determination within 30 days:
As an additional matter, this Court in [Fuster-Escalona v. Wisotsky, 781 So. 2d 1063 (Fla.2001) ] found that the lower court’s focus on the petitioner’s failure to request a hearing on the disqualification motion was inappropriate. While this Court acknowledged that the petitioner should have requested a hearing to ensure that the trial court considered his motion, it noted that the rules did not require such a request to be made. Accordingly, this Court held that the failure of the trial judge to give an immediate ruling on the motion to disqualify violated rule 2.160. We agree with this reasoning.
Thus, based upon the reasoning of Fus-ter-Escalona and the history behind the enactment of the rule, we hold that a motion for judicial disqualification filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.160 must be ruled on within thirty days following its presentation to the court. We believe that thirty days gives the trial court sufficient time to determine the sufficiency of a motion. A litigant who files a motion for disqualification should not be required to file a petition for a writ of mandamus to compel a trial judge to provide a ruling on the motion.
Tableau Fine Art Group, Inc., 853 So. 2d at 302-03; see Fuster-Escalona, 781 So. 2d at 1065 (observing “[t]he trial judge is the manager of the docket and has the ultimate responsibility to rule on pleadings that are properly pled before the court, in accord with applicable rules of procedure and court precedent”); see also G.C. v. Dep’t of Children and Families, 804 So. 2d 525, 526 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)(stating that neither sending a gentle reminder to the judge nor applying for a writ of mandamus “is a burden that should be placed on the movant. The rule places the burden on the judge to rule [as required by the disqualification rule] and the litigant should not be required to nudge the judge. Nor is it right to require a party to file a petition for writ of mandamus.”).
Therefore, under Rule 2.330(j), Schis-ler’s disqualification motion is deemed to have been granted because not ruled on within 30 days. Schisler’s petition for mandamus relief is therefore granted. The order under review is quashed and this matter remanded for entry of an order directing the clerk of the circuit court to reassign the instant case to a different judge.
. Rule 2.330(c) governing service states that “[i]n addition to filing with the clerk, the movant shall immediately serve a copy of the motion on the subject judge as set forth in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.080.”
. Because the thirtieth day fell on a Sunday, the order would have been timely had it been entered on Monday, January 8, making the order only one day late.
.The Court also requested "that the Florida Bar Judicial Administration Rules Committee draft an amendment to rule 2.160 [the predecessor to current rule 2.330(j)] consistent with the opinion in this case.” Tableau Fine Art Group, Inc., 853 So. 2d at 303.
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Hedrick v. State, 6 So. 3d 688 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…le). In his Third Renewed Motion to Disqualify, post-conviction counsel argued that Judge Fennelly’s failure to have ruled on the prior motions within thirty days required automatic disqualification. Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(j); Schisler v. State, 958 So. 2d 503 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (applying the bright-line rule that was created following the decision in Tableau, Fine Art Group, Inc. v. Jacoboni, 853 So. 2d 299, 302-03 (Fla.2003)). A motion is deemed granted under Rule 2.330(j), however, only if the trial c…
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Marquez v. State, 11 So. 3d 975 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…he moving party may seek an order from the court directing the clerk to reassign the case.” Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(j); see Berube v. State, 978 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); Johnson v. State, 968 So. 2d 61 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007); Schisler v. State, 958 So. 2d 503 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); see also Tableau Fine Art Group, Inc. v. Jacoboni, 853 So. 2d 299 (Fla.2003). We deny the petition because the defendant’s motion does not contain a certificate of service showing that the motion for disqualification was served…
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Berube v. State, 978 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)…d in the rule, the postconviction court was required to rule on the motion within thirty days of its service. Under the rule, the motion is deemed granted because the postconviction court did not rule on it within thirty days. See Schisler v. State, 958 So. 2d 503, 505 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007). The postconviction court’s omission to rule on the motion within thirty days of its service entitled Mr. Berube to an order directing the clerk of the court to reassign the case. Johnson v. State, 968 So. 2d 61, 63 (Fla. 4th…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fuster-Escalona v. Wisotsky, 781 So. 2d 1063 (Fla. 2000)
- Tableau Fine ART Grp., Inc. v. Jacoboni, 853 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 2003)
- G.C. & D.C. as Parents of A.C. & H.C. v. Dep't OF Child. & Families, 804 So. 2d 525 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)