Sunshine State Recusal
Two new opinions of the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee
Opinion Number: 2020-23
Date of Issue: November 13, 2020
1. Is a judge disqualified from involvement in proceedings in which one of the attorneys is a former client of the judge or is a member of a law firm formerly represented by the judge?
ANSWER: No.
2. If disqualification is not required, must the judge disclose that an attorney for one of the parties was previously represented by the judge?
ANSWER: Yes, disclosure of the representation should be made for a reasonable period of time after the representation terminated.
The inquiring judge had a legal practice that included the representation of attorneys, their law firms, or both the attorneys and their firms. Some of those clients were statewide law firms which employ many attorneys or were attorneys employed by such firms. It is possible that some of the attorneys whose conduct was at issue could appear before the judge, and likely that attorneys from some of the statewide firms would appear before the judge. The judge requests guidance on whether disqualification is required under such circumstances and, if not, whether disclosure of the relationship is required. The judge further inquires about the length of time which must pass after the representation before disqualification or disclosure is no longer required, should either be necessary.
Opinion Number: 2020-24
Date of Issue: November 13, 2020
Whether a judge must recuse him/herself from any cases where a friend of the judge’s spouse appears as counsel of record but the judge does not have a close social relationship with the lawyer?
ANSWER: No.
If not required to recuse, must the judge disclose the nature of the relationship between the judge’s spouse and the lawyer in all proceedings where the spouse’s friend appears as counsel of record?
ANSWER: No, unless the judge believes that the nature of the friendship is sufficient to warrant reasonable concern over the judge’s impartiality.
The inquiring judge presides over a division to which lawyers are assigned, and those lawyers are supervised by other lawyers. A new supervising lawyer has been assigned to the division. The new supervisor is a casual social friend of the judge’s spouse. For example, the new supervisor and the judge’s spouse attend a weekly class and socialize after the class about once a month.
The judge has never socialized with the new supervising lawyer, other than brief interactions at 4 or 5 large charity events over the years. The new supervising lawyer also volunteered, along with many others, to assist in the judge’s campaign a few years ago at a large meet and greet campaign event. The judge has not spoken with the new supervising lawyer in approximately 18 months.
(Mike Frisch)