Opinion

School Board of Indian River County v. Livaudais

  • 720 So. 2d 1175
  • 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 15032
  • 1998 WL 842701
Court
District Court of Appeal of Florida
Filed
Dec 2, 1998
Status
Published
On the bench
Dell, Shahood, Warner
Cited by
1 cases
Authority
More cited than 45.5%

The opinion

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner filed a motion to disqualify the trial judge because of the relationship between the judge and one of respondent’s possible witnesses. The trial judge had sua sponte disqualified himself in another proceeding where the same witness was to testify. The trial judge denied the motion to recuse, and petitioner filed this petition for a writ of prohibition. However, subsequent to the filing of the instant application, a senior judge was assigned to try petitioner’s case, and we determined that the petition was therefore moot. After the trial a motion for attorney’s fees was set before the original trial judge, and upon motion by petitioner, we reinstated this petition.

We dismiss the petition on the grounds that the motion of recusal was based upon possible bias surrounding the trial judge’s relationship with a potential witness for respondent. Since the ease was tried before a different judge, and there was no exposure of the first judge to the witness, the reason for recusal has been removed. There is no allegation that this same witness will testify in regard to any post-trial motions, such as the attorney’s fee motion which has already been set. Therefore, we conclude once again that the petition is moot and accordingly dismiss it.

DELL, WARNER and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.