STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
CAM VOONG LENG, RESPONDENT
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The Florida District Court of Appeal granted a petition for writ of certiorari to quash a circuit court's denial of the state's motion to disqualify a county judge. The court held that the judge's prior comments about the Seminole Tribe and bias in handling the case satisfied the legal standard for disqualification and that inconsistent rulings by different circuit judges on identical grounds constituted a manifest injustice.
The motion to disqualify was legally sufficient because it alleged facts that would cause the movant to have a well-grounded fear of not receiving a fair trial. The circuit court's denial of the writ of prohibition was reversed because where the grounds for disqualification are met and disqualification may be required in many cases, it is a manifest injustice for disqualification to turn on the identity of the circuit court judge to whom the writ is assigned.
[1] A motion to disqualify a judge is legally sufficient if it alleges facts that would cause the movant to have a well-grounded fear of not receiving a fair trial.
[2] A motion to disqualify a judge must be filed within a reasonable time not to exceed 10 days after discovery of the facts constituting the grounds for the motion.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The motion to disqualify was legally sufficient, in that it alleged facts which "would cause the movant to have a well-grounded fear that he or she will not receive a fair trial at the hands of the judge."”
Establishes the legal standard for a sufficient disqualification motion and applies it to the state's motion in this case.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceVoong Leng was charged with trespass after warning at the Seminole Classic Casino in county court. Six days after the case was assigned to Judge Josep…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
In a case in the county court, Voong Leng was charged with trespass after warning at the Seminole Classic Casino. The case was assigned to Judge Joseph Murphy on January 24, 2008. Six days later,1 the state moved to disqualify the judge based on comments he made in a prior case concerning the Seminole Tribe and its right to enforce state laws on its property. The state argued that the comments would lead a reasonable person to believe that the victim in the case, the Seminole Indian Tribe, would not receive a fair trial or hearing. The state also argued that the judge’s comments showed bias by appearing to give advice to opposing counsel as to how to handle the case. With its motion, the state provided transcripts in another case involving the Seminole Tribe where Judge Murphy granted the state’s motion for disqualification.
Judge Murphy denied the motion on January 30, 2008. The state timely sought prohibition relief in the circuit court. To support its petition, the state cited to two circuit court cases where different circuit judges had granted prohibition on identical grounds. However, in this case yet another circuit court judge denied the petition.
We review the circuit court’s ruling in this ease by certiorari. See Sutton v. State, 975 So. 2d 1073 (Fla.2008). With regard to the scope of review, we
can only grant a petition for writ of certiorari based on a departure from the essential requirements of law. A departure from the essential requirements of law is not mere legal error, but instead, involves a “gross miscarriage of justice.” Due to its discretionary nature, a district court of appeal may refuse to grant certiorari relief even if there is legal error which could be argued to be a departure from the essential requirements of law.
Id. at 1080-81 (internal citations omitted).
We grant the petition and quash the order of the circuit court. The motion to disqualify was legally sufficient, in that it alleged facts which “would cause the movant to have a well-grounded fear that he or she will not receive a fair trial at the hands of the judge.” State v. Shaw, 643 So. 2d 1163, 1164 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). The trial judge previously granted a motion to disqualify on identical grounds. See Walls v. State, 910 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). Two different circuit court judges granted writs of prohibition on identical grounds. Where the grounds for disqualification of a county judge are met and disqualification may be required in many cases, it is a manifest injustice for disqualification to turn on the identity of the circuit court judge to whom a writ of prohibition is assigned.
POLEN and GROSS, JJ., concur. FARMER, J., dissents without opinion.
. Although the county court cited untimeliness as one reason for denying the motion, this was incorrect, since the motion was filed less than ten days after the state learned that the case had been assigned to Judge Murphy. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.330(e) provides that a “motion to disqualify shall be filed within a reasonable time not to exceed 10 days after discovery of the facts constituting the grounds for the motion.” A crucial fact forming a basis for the motion was the assignment of the case to Judge Murphy.
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Edwards-Freeman v. State, 138 So. 3d 507 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…egree that it adversely affects the client.’ ” Id. (quoting Ginsberg v. Holt, 86 So. 2d 650, 651 (Fla.1956)). Disqualification may also be required where the judge has previously granted disqualification on the same grounds. State v. Cam Voong Leng, 987 So. 2d 236, 237 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (citing Walls v. State, 910 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)). The judge’s comments about defense counsel to a pro se defendant were inappropriate and gave the petitioners and defense counsel reason to fear that the judge was…
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Yorlan Espinosa Pena v. State, 259 So. 3d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)…s particular county judge. These allegations combined were sufficient to give the petitioners an objective fear that they would not receive a fair trial before this particular county judge in their traffic cases. See State v. Voong Leng, - 8 - 987 So. 2d 236, 237 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (granting petition for writ of certiorari because motion to disqualify the county judge alleged prior comments by the trial judge which showed bias and caused the movant to have a well-grounded fear that he would not rece…
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State v. Longo, 991 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…PER CURIAM. For the same reasons discussed in State v. Cam Voong Leng, 987 So. 2d 236 (Fla. 4th DCA July 30, 2008), we grant the State’s petition for writ of certiorari and quash the circuit court’s order denying the petition for writ of prohibition. Although we do not believe that the trial court judge holds any personal bias or pre…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Sutton v. State, 975 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 2008)
- State v. Shaw, 643 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Santoya Walls v. State, 910 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)