Case Name: Lawrence F. BRAYNEN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2005-02-16
Citations: 895 So. 2d 1169
Docket Number: No. 4D04-3673
Parties: Lawrence F. BRAYNEN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Judges: STEVENSON and GROSS, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 895
Pages: 1169–1170

Head Matter:
Lawrence F. BRAYNEN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
No. 4D04-3673.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Feb. 16, 2005.
Rehearing Denied April 6, 2005.
Alan H. Schreiber, Public Defender, and Diane M. Cuddihy, Chief Assistant Public Defender, Fort Lauderdale, for petitioner.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Georgina Jimenez-Orosa, Senior Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Lawrence Braynen petitions for writ of prohibition seeking to disqualify circuit judge Cheryl Aleman from presiding over his criminal prosecution. The grounds asserted for disqualification were that one of Braynen's attorneys, Sandra Perlman, was on the steering committee for Judge Ale-man's opponent in a contested judicial race.
Attached to the motion to disqualify in the circuit court was a campaign .letter supporting the judge's opponent; Perl-man's name appears as one of thirty-four members of the steering committee. Being one of thirty-four members of a candidate's steering committee is not the type of " 'specific and substantial political relationship' " that constitutes grounds for disqualification. See Neiman-Marcus Group, Inc. v. Robinson, 829 So.2d 967, 968 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (quoting Caleffe v. Vitale, 488 So.2d 627, 629 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)); Zaias v. Kaye, 643 So.2d 687 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (holding that the "fact that an attorney made a campaign contribution to a judge or served [as one of over sixty members] on a judge's campaign committee does not, without more, require disqualification.").
Petition for writ of prohibition denied.
STEVENSON and GROSS, JJ., concur.
FARMER, C.J., concurs specially with opinion.