MATTHEWS
v.
STATE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2018-09-11
No. CASE NO.: 2D18-3368
From, Marcus, Watson
255 So. 3d 830 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2018)

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.


Holding

A judge must be disqualified when established facts would cause a reasonably prudent person to fear not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding, regardless of the judge's actual bias or personal perception of impartiality.


Headnotes

[1] Judicial disqualification is required when established facts would cause a reasonably prudent person to fear not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding, without requir…

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Key Quotes

“the standards for disqualification do not turn on a demonstration of actual bias or partiality on the part of the judge or the judge's own perception of his or her impartiality. Rather, disqualification is required where the facts alleged and established, which must be taken as true, would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding.”

Court explaining the legal standard for judicial disqualification

Facts & Procedural History

Petitioner filed a motion to disqualify Judge Iten in circuit court case number 18-CF-1401. The motion was deemed legally sufficient to warrant disqua…

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Opinion of the Court

Petitioner's petition for a writ prohibiting Judge Iten from presiding further in circuit court case number 18-CF-1401 is granted as the petitioner's motion to disqualify the judge filed in the circuit court is deemed legally sufficient. See Kline v. JRD Mgmt. Corp., 165 So. 3d 812, 814 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) ("[T]he standards for disqualification do not turn on a demonstration of actual bias or partiality on the part of the judge or the judge's own perception of his or her impartiality. Rather, disqualification is required where the facts alleged and established, which must be taken as true, would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding."). Accordingly, a successor judge shall be immediately appointed pursuant to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b)(4).

BLACK and ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur. ATKINSON, J., would deny the petition for writ of prohibition.


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