ALEXANDRA A. CANCEL, PETITIONER,
v.
ROBERTO MONTANEZ, RESPONDENT.
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Alexandra Cancel sought a writ of prohibition to overturn a trial judge's denial of her motion to disqualify him from her child relocation case. The appellate court granted the petition, finding that the facts alleged in her affidavit were legally sufficient to support disqualification under the standard that a reasonably prudent person would fear inability to receive a fair hearing.
The appellate court granted the petition for writ of prohibition, finding that the facts alleged in the affidavit, taken as true, were legally sufficient to prompt a reasonably prudent person to fear that Cancel could not receive a fair and impartial trial. The court quashed the order denying disqualification and remanded the case for assignment to a different trial judge.
[1] Appellate courts review trial court orders denying motions to disqualify trial judges by prohibition.
[2] Motions to disqualify judges are governed procedurally by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.330.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Upon receiving the motion, the judge shall determine only the legal sufficiency of the motion without passing on the truth of the facts alleged.”
Establishes that the trial judge must assess only legal sufficiency, not factual accuracy, when reviewing a disqualification motion.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAlexandra Cancel filed a motion to disqualify Judge Luis F. Calderon from presiding over her child relocation case against Roberto Montanez. The trial…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Reasonably Prudent Person Standard cases and more on FLexlaw
Alexandra A. Cancel petitions this Court for a writ of prohibition to review the denial of her motion to disqualify the Honorable Luis F. Calderon from presiding over her child relocation case against Roberto Montanez. We grant the petition.
We review trial court orders denying motions to disqualify trial judges by prohibition. Isan v. Isan, 209 So.3d 40, 41 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). Motions to disqualify are governed procedurally by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.330. See Wall v. State, 238 So.3d 127, 142 (Fla. 2018) ; Krawczuk v. State, 92 So.3d 195, 200 (Fla. 2012). Specifically, the 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 and shall be promptly presented to the court for an immediate ruling." Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(e). Upon receiving the motion, the judge shall determine only the legal sufficiency of the motion without passing on the truth of the facts alleged. Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(f). The test for determining the legal sufficiency of a motion for disqualification is whether "the facts alleged (which must be taken as true) would prompt a reasonably prudent person to fear that he could not get a fair and impartial trial." Hayslip v. Douglas, 400 So.2d 553, 556 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Here, the facts presented in the affidavit, which we must presume to be true, are sufficient to prompt Cancel to fear that she cannot get a fair hearing.
Accordingly, we grant the petition for writ of prohibition, quash the order denying the motion for recusal, and remand this case for assignment to a different trial judge.
PETITION GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED.
PALMER, ORFINGER and TORPY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Nannie McDaniel v. McElvy, 108 So. 820 (Fla. 1926)
- Hayslip v. The Honorable Paul T. Douglas, 400 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Anton Krawczuk v. State, 92 So. 3d 195 (Fla. 2012)
- Wall v. State, 238 So. 3d 127 (Fla. 2018)
- Isan v. Isan, 209 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016)