Laurence v. State
Twelve criminal defendants sought writs of prohibition to disqualify a Monroe County judge whose spouse became Executive Director of the State Attorney's Office, an administrative (non-supervisory-over-attorneys) position. The Third DCA held the disqualification motions were legally insufficient because the spouse had no supervisory authority over prosecutors and did not participate in prosecutions, adopting JEAC Opinion 2023-09's reasoning and distinguishing Edwards v. State and its own recent decision in Brewer v. Hughes.
Key facts
- Twelve criminal defendants filed motions to disqualify a Monroe County judge based on the judge's spouse becoming Executive Director of the State Attorney's Office, an administrative position with no supervisory authority over prosecutors.
- The trial court denied the disqualification motions, and the defendants sought writs of prohibition in the Third District Court of Appeal.
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Why it matters
This opinion fills a gap in Florida law -- noted by the court itself as sparse -- on when a judge's spouse's employment by the prosecuting state attorney's office requires disqualification, and it establishes a workable… — full analysis with a trial
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