Opinion ID: 1461778
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: A.The Motion for Recusal of the Trial Judge

Text: After the jury rendered its unfavorable verdict against Petitioners, Petitioners, in a new trial motion, asserted that they were prejudiced by the behavior of the trial judge towards their counsel in front of the jury and that a new trial was required based on that judicial misconduct. In addition, Petitioners believed that the trial judge's alleged personal misconduct meant that their post-trial motion should be heard by a different judge. Petitioners' recusal motion stated, in pertinent part: The Plaintiffs ... here supplement their Motion for a New Trial to state that in light of the fact that the basis for that Motion is the behavior of the Trial Judge, the decision in Surratt v. Prince George's County, 320 Md. 439, 578 A.2d 745 (1990), and the Trial Judge's angry denial that it was or ever could be unfair or partial in this case or in any other case, the Motion For a New Trial should be heard by a different judge. See also, Jefferson-El v. State, 330 Md. 99, 622 A.2d 737 (1993). At that hearing, the Plaintiffs intend to call witnesses such as court personnel, to establish the significant pattern of one-sided misbehavior by the Trial Judge in this case is and has been, a long-standing problem with this particular Trial Judge, and that improper conduct in front of the jury in the instant case was egregious and prejudicial to the Plaintiffs. On appeal, the Court of Special Appeals concluded that: We have combed the record and are satisfied that there was no disparate treatment of the parties or their lawyers, nor was there conduct amounting to judicial misconduct. Indeed, we find no basis in the record to support appellants' after-the-fact assertion that they were treated unfairly by the judge. To the contrary, appellants prevailed on the key issue in the case, concerning the existence of an easement having a width of twenty feet; it was the court that resolved that issue, in appellants' favor, as a matter of law. Moreover, the allegations here do not require another judge to decide the recusal motion. Therefore, we are amply satisfied that the court below did not err or abuse its discretion in regard to the recusal motion. We agree with the Court of Special Appeals on this point. We stated in Surratt v. Prince George's County, 320 Md. 439, 468, 578 A.2d 745, 759 (1990), that a party must file a timely motion in order to initiate the recusal procedure. A timely motion ordinarily is not one that represents the possible withholding of a recusal motion as a weapon to use only in the event of some unfavorable ruling. 320 Md. at 468-69, 578 A.2d at 759. Consequently, the motion generally should be filed as soon as the basis for it becomes known and relevant. 320 Md. at 469, 578 A.2d at 759. In Surratt, the trial judge denied a recusal motion filed by a female attorney who alleged that the judge had engaged in sexual harassment of her over a period of years. 320 Md. at 463, 578 A.2d at 757. The recusal motion was filed after a remittitur was granted against the female attorney's clients. 320 Md. at 469, 578 A.2d at 760. We said in Surratt that counsel could have made the recusal motion before the remittitur, but we identified various reasons why it was acceptable, under the special circumstances of that case, to file the recusal motion after the remittitur: To make the motion in the midst of trial would have or could have caused disruption and delay. To make the motion before the judge ruled on the remittitur request might have prejudiced the clients and produced an even more drastic remittitur, or perhaps an adverse judgment n.o.v. The lawyer also was reluctant to make the motion until she could point to some indication of prejudice. Id. The trial judge's grant of the remittitur in Surratt was part of the prejudicial conduct alleged by the female attorney and was part of the proof of her disparate treatment. In the present case there was no proof tendered that the jury's return of the verdict was influenced by the alleged prejudicial conduct. Rather it appears that the only reason Petitioners waited until after the jury verdict to file the motion for recusal was to see what the jury would decide on the issues submitted to it. At the point in time the jury was asked to deliberate, the Petitioners had prevailed, with the trial judge, on the key issue concerning the existence of an express easement having a width of twenty feet. The trial judge's generally asserted misconduct occurred during the trial, before the jury began deliberations, and, to some degree, even before trial began. As to the latter claim, it appears that Petitioners' counsel were of the view that the alleged conduct toward them at trial was merely the most recent of a significant pattern of one-sided behavior [against Petitioners' counsel] by the Trial Judge ... and has been a long-standing problem.... If that were so, Petitioners should have filed a motion requesting a mistrial or recusal before the jury rendered its verdict, or perhaps sought the judge's recusal before trial. With regard to recusable conduct occurring at trial, the Court of Special Appeals in Braxton v. Faber, 91 Md.App. 391, 604 A.2d 543 (1992), held that a party wishing to make a proper record of perceptually prejudicial conduct by a judge during trial, and especially conduct not inherently capable of being captured through the medium of a printed transcript, nonetheless must create a record in which (1) facts are set forth in reasonable detail sufficient to show the purported bias of the trial judge; (2) the facts in support of the claim must be made in presence of opposing counsel and the judge who is the subject of the charges; (3) counsel must not be ambivalent in setting forth his or her position regarding the charges; and (4) the relief sought must be stated with particularity and clarity. 91 Md.App. at 408-09, 604 A.2d at 552. As the intermediate appellate court stated, in requiring counsel to register charges of bias thusly, we seek to prevent conclusory allegations of bias from being sufficient to upset an unfavorable verdict and, at the same time, obviating the necessity for holding a mini-trial on the truth of the allegations. 91 Md.App. at 409, 604 A.2d at 552. A motion for recusalunder the alleged circumstances in this caseis not timely, after an unfavorable jury verdict, to review alleged wrongs that might have been remedied at or before trial. See, e.g., United States v. Yonkers Bd. of Educ., 946 F.2d 180, 183 (2d Cir.1991)(a motion to disqualify must be made at the earliest possible moment because the timeliness requirement is necessary to prevent waste of judicial resources, and it ensures that the movant does not hedge its bets against the eventual outcome) (citations omitted). Petitioners suggest that the trial judge's tone of voice and demeanor were notably inappropriate and one-sided during the trial and that such may have led the jury to return the verdict it did. [2] Petitioners, however, never requested a mistrial when this alleged conduct occurred, but waited until after an unfavorable jury verdict was returned. It is not a permissible tactic for Petitioners to wait until after an unfavorable jury verdict before filing a motion for recusal under these circumstances. 320 Md. at 469, 578 A.2d at 759. Petitioners essentially did not complain about the trial judge's conduct until after the unfavorable jury verdict that followed a three-day trial. Under the particular circumstances of this case, the recusal motion was untimely. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS REVERSED. CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH DIRECTION TO REVERSE THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR DORCHESTER COUNTY, AND TO REMAND THIS CASE TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENT CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. COSTS IN THIS COURT AND THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS TO BE DIVIDED EQUALLY BY PETITIONERS AND RESPONDENTS.