Opinion ID: 2416788
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the Trial Judge Could Fairly Serve

Text: Jones argues that the trial judge erred in denying the motion to disqualify himself because of his longstanding animosity toward one of the defense attorneys. Jones also contends that the trial judge erred when he refused to allow the motion to disqualify him to be heard by another judge. The defense attorney entered her appearance as co-counsel in the case after the time had passed for the defendant to get an automatic change of judge under Rule 32.07. Thus, the two issues are whether the trial judge should have disqualified himself for cause and whether, in any event, that determination should have been made by a different judge. Questions concerning a judge's qualification to hear a case usually are not constitutional questions; rather, they are questions answered by common law, statute or the code of judicial conduct. State v. Nicklasson, 967 S.W.2d 596, 605 (Mo. banc 1998). Canon 3D(1) of Rule 2, the Code of Judicial Conduct, requires a judge to recuse himself in a proceeding where the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. In construing this provision, the test applied is whether a reasonable person would have a factual basis to find an appearance of impropriety and thereby doubt the impartiality of the court. State v. Smulls, 935 S.W.2d 9, 17 (Mo. banc 1996). It is presumed that judges will not undertake to preside in a proceeding where they cannot be impartial. State ex rel. Ferguson v. Corrigan, 959 S.W.2d 113, 115 (Mo. banc 1997). The judge himself or herself is in the best position to decide whether recusal is necessary. Id. To qualify, the bias must come from an extrajudicial source that results in the judge forming an opinion on the merits based on something other than what the judge has learned from participation in the case. Nicklasson, supra . In Nicklasson , the defendant claimed bias in the trial court's decisions: not to allow attorney participation in death-qualification voir dire; refusing to excuse for cause a venireperson who did not ultimately serve on the jury; to refer to some of the defense expert testimony as junk science (outside the presence of the jury); to express criticism of a member of the defense team; to comment that one defense witness's testimony was refreshing and to state during the questioning of another defense witness let's get on to something that's going to assist this jury in making a decision after overruling an objection by the state; and to ridicule penalty-phase witnesses. Id. This Court concluded that none of the assertions rose to the level of bias or prejudice toward either party arising from an extrajudicial source and that none of the assertions supported a contention that the trial court's conduct affected the jury in its fact determinations or sentence recommendation. Id. Similarly, in the instant case, the record does not support a claim that the trial judge's attitude towards defense co-counsel affected the jury in its fact determinations or sentence recommendation. There is only one place in the trial record that appellant can cite to support his claim that the trial judge's bias affected the trial: PROSECUTOR: So when you're deliberating as a jury on guilt or punishment phase one must interact with his fellow jurors, and you may go down there at the first time you talk about it and some of you may be for death  DEFENSE CO-COUNSEL: Judge, I'm going to object to this at this time. I think that Mr. Ravetta has already had the opportunity to discuss the law with people if there are specific questions that he has for individuals, but I think, first of all, he's improperly defining some things here and going over some things  THE COURT: Let's go up here. Let's not make speeches in front of the jury. That isn't an objection, it's a speech. (Counsel approached the bench and the following proceedings were had outside the hearing of the voir dire panel:) THE COURT: I don't want any more objections made in the form of speeches, do you understand that. You are to come up here with a legal objection. You made a long speech in front of the jury with a deliberate attempt apparently to influence them. Make objections like that up here. Is that clear? Do you understand me? DEFENSE CO-COUNSEL: Yes, Judge. I would also like to make a brief record at this point. It seems as if based on the Court's tone and demeanor that it is angry with what I have just done. THE COURT: I certainly am, because you have no business making a long, rambling speech and statement that was not in fact a legal objection in the presence of the jury. That kind of thing should be done at the bench. DEFENSE CO-COUNSEL: I would also indicate for the record, first of all I was just trying to phrase the objection as well as I could under the circumstances; that I was not trying to influence the jury, that I was just trying to make an objection. And in addition to that I believe Mr. Ravetta made some speaking objections and was not treated in the same manner as I am right now for having made some speaking objections. THE COURT: I don't think any of them were that long, that concise, and that detailed. That was in fact a speech. Now what is the specific objection to what? DEFENSE CO-COUNSEL: Mr. Ravetta has already had the opportunity to make his  to do his voir dire. He's now having this detailed  giving a detailed speech or lecture as to what deliberation means and even implying that deliberation means that you will change your mind as I think one juror seems to infer from what Mr. Ravetta says. I don't think it's proper and I think that he's already had his opportunity. If there are specific jurors that he feels the need to rehabilitate, but it's gone way beyond that to the point where he is really getting to do a second entire voir dire. From the above record, it is not clear that the judge's anger was shown toward defense co-counsel in his remarks in front of the jury, or whether the anger was shown only at the bench out of the jury's hearing. Furthermore, Jones does not allege facts to show that the judge was biased against him personally or against the merits of his case. It is relatively easy for a party in litigation to claim that he cannot get a fair trial because the judge dislikes his lawyer. We trust trial court judges in the first instance to discover whether such contentions are legitimate and to disqualify themselves in appropriate circumstances. Where as here the judge does not disqualify himself, we have only the record to review to determine whether this alleged animosity has in fact infected the trial with a bias whose source is extrajudicial. Upon this review, we are unable to find such bias manifested to the jury that would cause us to grant a new trial. The above-quoted portion of the trial transcript is the only portion of the record that Jones can cite to show judicial partiality, and plainly, no bias appears. Jones further contends that the trial judge erred in hearing the motion for his own disqualification. If sufficient facts to require recusal are not known to the judge but are contained in an affidavit in support of a motion to disqualify the judge, another judge must be assigned the case, at least for the purpose of deciding the motion to disqualify. State ex rel. Ferguson v. Corrigan, 959 S.W.2d 113 (Mo. banc 1997). By the same standard, if the motion to disqualify is substantially insufficient, the trial judge is not required to have another judge hear the recusal motion. State v. Taylor, 929 S.W.2d 209, 220 (Mo. banc 1996). Jones' contention is rejected because the facts that he pleaded were not sufficiently in dispute to require that another judge hear the motion to disqualify.