Former Partner Of Former Spouse Not A Problem

From the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee comes this recent opinion

ISSUES

Must a judge, who receives no  alimony or support from the judge’s former spouse, disclose or enter a  disqualification order when a former law partner of the judge’s former spouse  appears before the judge and rents space from and shares a receptionist with the  judge’s former spouse?

ANSWER: No.

Reasoning

Although one member of the Committee would require  additional facts that might be relevant to this opinion, based on the  underlying facts provided by the inquiring judge, the Committee believes that  because the inquiring judge receives no alimony or support from the judge’s  former spouse, no reasonable person would question the judge’s impartiality if  an attorney appears before the judge who maintains a business relationship with  the judge’s former spouse. Furthermore, disclosure of the attorney’s  relationship with the judge’s former spouse is not required because the  relationship is not relevant to the question of disqualification. See, e.g., Fla. JEAC Op. 02-05 where  this Committee advised that a judge is not required to “per se disclose personal  family matters” and that a judge in the family law division need not disclose  that the judge is divorced and may potentially be involved in litigation  concerning the judge’s children.

(Mike Frisch)