Laurence v. State
Twelve criminal defendants sought writs of prohibition to disqualify a Monroe County judge whose spouse became Executive Director (a non-attorney administrative role) of the State Attorney's Office prosecuting their cases. The Third DCA held the disqualification motions were legally insufficient because the spouse's position was purely administrative, did not supervise any assistant state attorneys, and there was no allegation she assisted in any specific prosecution, distinguishing this from cases where a judge's relative directly supervised the prosecuting attorneys.
Key facts
- Twelve criminal defendants filed writs of prohibition seeking to disqualify a Monroe County judge based on the judge's spouse becoming Executive Director (a non-attorney administrative role) of the State Attorney's Office prosecuting their cases.
- The trial court denied the disqualification motions, and the defendants appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion fills a gap in Florida case law by directly addressing when a judge's spouse's employment by a prosecuting agency requires disqualification, drawing a clear administrative-versus-supervisory line and… — full analysis with a trial
🔒 Read the full opinion, holding & search the library
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision are available to members. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card.
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.