Opinion ID: 1058658
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Clause (ii)Factual Basis

Text: The Feld Attorneys argue that their motions were well grounded in fact within the meaning of clause (ii) of the second paragraph of Code § 8.01-271.1. Although the motion to recuse contains numerous allegations, the Feld Attorneys in their brief filed in this Court rely on five essential alleged facts that they state provided the impetus for the [m]otion to [r]ecuse. [3] The Feld Attorneys contend that the motions were well grounded in fact because they were supported by the following alleged facts: 1) PETA submitted ex parte and without notice the petition for a rule to show cause making serious charges against two of the Feld Attorneys; 2) PETA allegedly did not file the petition with the Clerk of the circuit court but submitted the petition directly to Judge Stitt; 3) Judge Stitt allegedly held the petition for three weeks without notifying the Feld Attorneys of the petition; 4) Judge Stitt considered the ex parte petition for a rule to show cause after having admonished all attorneys to refrain from ex parte contacts in the case; and 5) Judge Stitt issued the rule to show cause one business day after allegedly conducting an ex parte bench conference with PETA's counsel in a trial in which the Feld Attorneys were not involved. The Feld Attorneys assert that these alleged facts provided an objectively reasonable factual basis for their recusal request. We disagree with this conclusion. Initially, we are compelled to observe that the Feld Attorneys' brief filed with this Court contains a striking omission. The Feld Attorneys do not mention the fact that in the motions, they used language that directly accused Judge Stitt of unethical conduct. These allegations of unethical conduct were stark and sweeping, stating that Judge Stitt [v]iolated [h]is [e]thical [o]bligations, ignored his ethical responsibilities, and acted directly counter to [those ethical responsibilities]. We therefore must consider the Feld Attorneys' arguments in the additional context of those written statements contained in the motions. Upon review of these allegations, we conclude that the record does not support the Feld Attorneys' argument that there was an adequate factual basis for the motions. At least three of the alleged facts on which the Feld Attorneys rely are inaccurate. Other facts that the Feld Attorneys cite involve conduct attributable only to PETA, not to Judge Stitt. In addition, the Feld Attorneys' argument relies on speculation and, thus, is self-refuting of a conclusion that the motions were well grounded in fact. The first alleged fact on which the Feld Attorneys rely is that PETA filed the petition for a rule to show cause ex parte and without notice. This filing, however, was an action taken by PETA, not by Judge Stitt. Thus, that action was not relevant to the issues whether Judge Stitt had engaged in unethical conduct or had shown actual bias in favor of PETA and provided no factual support for the Feld Attorneys' assertion that Judge Stitt had acted in such a manner. [4] The second alleged fact on which the Feld Attorneys rely is their assertion that counsel for PETA did not file the petition for a rule to show cause in the Clerk's Office and instead submitted the petition directly to Judge Stitt. Although counsel for PETA indicated in a cover letter to the petition dated February 18, 2005, that he intended to deliver the petition to Judge Stitt, the record before us shows that the petition actually was filed in the Clerk's Office on February 18, 2005. This filing in the Clerk's Office is shown by the Clerk's date stamp, which appears on the face of the petition in the right-hand corner of the pleading. The cover letter also was filed in the Clerk's Office on February 18, 2005, as shown by the Clerk's date stamp appearing in the right-hand corner of that document. Thus, the record before us refutes the Feld Attorneys' contention that the petition was not filed in the Clerk's Office but was filed privately with Judge Stitt. We also observe that because the filing of the petition was an action taken by PETA, not by Judge Stitt, that act of filing could not have provided a factual basis for arguing that Judge Stitt acted unethically or had shown actual or apparent bias in favor of PETA. Nevertheless, the Feld Attorneys advance as a third alleged fact supporting the motion to recuse their contention that Judge Stitt held the petition for a rule to show cause in his chambers for three weeks. They specifically alleged in their motion to recuse that Judge Stitt kept the petition secret for nearly a month. The record does not support these assertions. There is no evidence in the record that Judge Stitt actually received the petition the day it was filed. The record likewise does not show the date on which Judge Stitt received the petition for review. Moreover, the record shows that no one held the petition in secret for several weeks. Instead, as stated above, the record shows that the petition was filed in the Clerk's Office on February 18, 2005, the same day that the petition was delivered to the courthouse. Thus, the Feld Attorneys had no basis in fact for alleging on April 8, 2005, the date of the motions, that Judge Stitt improperly held the petition in secret for any period of time. The fourth alleged fact cited by the Feld Attorneys as supporting the motions is that PETA's counsel and Judge Stitt participated in an unrecorded bench conference on the Friday before the Monday date when Judge Stitt entered the rule to show cause. This unrecorded conference occurred during a hearing in PETA I in which the Feld Attorneys were not involved, and they concede that at the time they filed the motions, they did not know the substance of the unrecorded bench conversation. Thus, at the time they filed the motions, the Feld Attorneys merely speculated, without any basis in fact, that the timing of the bench conference provided a factual basis in support of the motions. The fifth alleged fact on which the Feld Attorneys rely is their contention that Judge Stitt issued the rule to show cause after admonishing the parties against any ex parte contacts, including even ministerial contacts with his law clerk. In his directive of December 9, 2004, Judge Stitt stated: [I]f you need to contact my law clerk, . . . just get somebody from the other side on the line. The way this case is going, we're going to be real careful with things like that. There's been an awful lot of correspondence to the court and things, and we're just going to have to formalize it a little bit. . . . The general rules regarding filings of motions, long briefings, and scheduling motions and so on, they apply to this case just like they apply to everything else. They need to be abided by. (Emphasis added.) This admonition plainly was intended to prohibit ex parte telephone communications with Judge Stitt's law clerk. Judge Stitt's further comments demonstrate that he did not intend to alter in any other manner the routine practices of the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. Thus, Judge Stitt's issuance of the March rule to show cause after placing restrictions on the parties' telephone access to his law clerk did not provide a factual basis for the Feld Attorneys' assertions in the motions that Judge Stitt had acted unethically and with actual bias in issuing the March rule. We hold that these five bases advanced by the Feld Attorneys fail to establish a well grounded factual foundation for the motions. The Feld Attorneys' failure to comply with this requirement of clause (ii) of the second paragraph of Code § 8.01-271.1, of itself, supports the circuit court's imposition of sanctions. Benitez, 273 Va. at 250-51, 639 S.E.2d at 207. Although this holding ordinarily would end further consideration of the arguments raised in this appeal, we nevertheless address the Feld Attorneys' remaining arguments concerning the other provisions of Code § 8.01-271.1. In view of the serious allegations the Feld Attorneys made against Judge Stitt in the motions, we conclude that it is appropriate to have a complete record addressing all the matters raised in this appeal.