Sands Pointe Ocean Beach Resort Condominium Association, Inc. v. Aelion (consolidated petitions)
Twenty-seven consolidated prohibition petitions sought to disqualify an incumbent Miami-Dade circuit judge in cases handled by lawyers from the same statewide law firm as the attorney running against the judge in an upcoming election. The Third District held, as a matter of first impression, that the candidacy of one firm member is not imputed to the entire firm, and that conclusory allegations of 'inherent bias or prejudice' without any specific in-court or out-of-court conduct are legally insufficient to overcome the presumption of judicial impartiality. All petitions were denied.
📄 Read the official opinion (3rd DCA) →
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Key facts
- Twenty-seven consolidated prohibition petitions sought to disqualify an incumbent Miami-Dade circuit judge in cases where lawyers from a statewide law firm were involved, and one member of that firm was running against the judge in an upcoming election.
- The petitioners alleged that the judge had inherent bias or prejudice based solely on the candidacy of the firm member and the involvement of other firm lawyers in the cases, without alleging specific in-court or out-of-court conduct by the judge.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is Florida's first appellate decision squarely rejecting imputation of an attorney-candidate's judicial campaign to every lawyer in the candidate's firm as a ground for disqualifying the incumbent judge. It gives… — full analysis with a trial
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