JONATHAN HERNANDEZ VELEZ
v.
GLORITAZ LAFONTAINE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2020-12-04
No. 20-2274
Tennis, J., Lambert, J., Harris, J., Sasso, J.
Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2020)

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Holding

A petition for writ of prohibition to disqualify a trial judge must be denied when the petitioner fails to demonstrate an objectively reasonable fear of judicial bias, and adverse legal rulings alone are insufficient grounds for disqualification.

Headnotes

[1] A claim of judicial bias must be based on an objectively reasonable fear of bias, and adverse or unfavorable legal rulings alone are insufficient to establish grounds for…

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Key Quotes

“Adverse or unfavorable legal rulings, without more, are not legally sufficient grounds for disqualification.”

Pilkington v. Pilkington, 182 So. 3d 776, 779 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)
Facts & Procedural History

Jonathan Hernandez Velez sought a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Diana M. Tennis from continuing to preside over post-final judgment paternity l…

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Topics
Bias Judicial Disqualification Objective Reasonableness Standard Petition For Writ Of Prohibition

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Opinion of the Court
Sasso

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO

FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND

DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

JONATHAN HERNANDEZ VELEZ,

Petitioner,

v. Case No. 5D20-2274

GLORITAZ LAFONTAINE,

Respondent.

________________________________/

Opinion filed December 4, 2020

Petition for Writ of Prohibition, Diana M. Tennis, Respondent Judge.

Jonathan Hernandez Velez, Orlando, pro se.

Clifford J. Geismar, of The Law Office of Clifford J. Geismar, P.A., Winter Park, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

The petition for a writ of prohibition to preclude the assigned trial judge from further presiding over the post-final judgment of paternity litigation below is denied on the merits. See Krawczuk v. State, 92 So. 3d 195, 201 (Fla. 2012) (recognizing that for a motion to disqualify a trial judge to be legally sufficient the “fear of judicial bias must be objectively reasonable”); Wall v. State, 238 So. 3d 127, 143 (Fla. 2018) (“[T]he context of the hearing and history of the case as reflected in the record are relevant to understanding whether

PETITION DENIED.

LAMBERT, HARRIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

Footnotes
2 a movant has a well-founded fear of judicial bias.”); Pilkington v. Pilkington, 182 So. 3d 776, 779 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (“Adverse or unfavorable legal rulings, without more, are not legally sufficient grounds for disqualification.”); Erlinger v. Federico, 242 So. 3d 1177, 1182 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (finding that the movant’s allegation that the trial judge was biased on grounds that the judge became an active participant in the proceedings by asking the movant questions during cross-examination was both speculative and conclusory where the movant neither described the types of questions asked by the judge nor alleged how those questions demonstrated bias or prejudice).

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