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Gonzalez v. Goldstein

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Mar 23, 1994
633 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

Summary

determining trial judge's announced intention before a scheduled hearing to make a specific ruling, regardless of any evidence or argument to the contrary, is indicative of judicial bias and prejudice

Summary of this case from Hess v. Hess

Opinion

No. 94-0088.

March 23, 1994.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Broward County, Barry E. Goldstein, J.

Alan H. Schreiber, Public Defender, Stacey J. Pastel, Asst. Public Defender, and Steven Michaelson, Chief Asst. Public Defender, Fort Lauderdale, for petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Melynda L. Melear, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for respondent.


In Gonzalez v. State, 624 So.2d 300 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), we reversed the sentence and remanded for resentencing within the guidelines. After our mandate was received by the trial judge, he told defense counsel in an authorized ex parte communication before the scheduled resentencing hearing that he would not listen to any evidence in mitigation of punishment and that he intended to resentence defendant to the maximum period allowable under the guidelines. Defendant promptly moved to disqualify the trial judge on the grounds of bias and prejudice, and the state conceded that the motion was legally sufficient. The court denied the motion but agreed to allow additional evidence and continued the hearing. Defendant now seeks a writ of prohibition from this court.

We grant the writ. A trial judge's announced intention before a scheduled hearing to make a specific ruling, regardless of any evidence or argument to the contrary, is the paradigm of judicial bias and prejudice. We could not imagine a more telling basis for a party to fear that he will not receive a fair hearing. See Fischer v. Knuck, 497 So.2d 240 (Fla. 1986).

Nor can we take seriously the state's response that in so announcing the judge "was merely doing his job" as commanded by our mandate. We instructed the judge to resentence within the guidelines. We did not, however, instruct him to impose the maximum sentence permitted by the guidelines. He was entirely free under our mandate to impose a period of punishment at the lowest end of the punishment scale. His announced intention to give the maximum regardless of anything from defendant cannot conceivably constitute mere compliance with our directions.

PROHIBITION GRANTED.

DELL, C.J., and PARIENTE, J., concur.


Summaries of

Gonzalez v. Goldstein

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Mar 23, 1994
633 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

determining trial judge's announced intention before a scheduled hearing to make a specific ruling, regardless of any evidence or argument to the contrary, is indicative of judicial bias and prejudice

Summary of this case from Hess v. Hess

granting a writ of prohibition where the trial court told defense counsel before a scheduled resentencing hearing that he would not listen to any mitigation evidence and intended to resentence the defendant to the maximum period allowed under the guidelines

Summary of this case from Hompson v. State

granting a writ of prohibition based on the trial court's bias and prejudice where the trial court told defense counsel in an ex parte communication prior to the sentencing hearing that it planned on resentencing the defendant to the maximum under the guidelines regardless of any evidence in mitigation of punishment

Summary of this case from Gonzalez v. State

granting a writ of prohibition based on the trial court's bias and prejudice where the trial court told defense counsel in an ex parte communication prior to the sentencing hearing that it planned on resentencing the defendant to the maximum under the guidelines regardless of any evidence in mitigation of punishment

Summary of this case from Gonzalez v. State

granting prohibition after judge announced that he would sentence defendant to the top of the guidelines before taking testimony in mitigation

Summary of this case from Benson v. Tharpe

In Gonzalez v. Goldstein, 633 So.2d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), the defendant's departure sentence was reversed and the case was remanded for resentencing within the guidelines.

Summary of this case from Martin v. State

announcing an intention to make a specific ruling prior to evidence or argument "is the paradigm of judicial bias and prejudice"

Summary of this case from Weible v. State
Case details for

Gonzalez v. Goldstein

Case Details

Full title:RICARDO GONZALEZ, PETITIONER, v. THE HONORABLE BARRY E. GOLDSTEIN, CIRCUIT…

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Mar 23, 1994

Citations

633 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

Citing Cases

Hompson v. State

"A trial judge's announced intention before a scheduled hearing to make a specific ruling, regardless of any…

Weible v. State

Prejudging cases in such a way is improper.See Gonzalez v. Goldstein, 633 So.2d 1183, 1184 (Fla. 4th DCA…