Opinion ID: 1709393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Improper Ex Parte Communications

Text: Gore asserts that a letter sent by the State to the resentencing court on December 4, 1992, [13] and a motion filed by the State on February 17, 1992, [14] were improper ex parte communications. Gore also asserts that it was error for the trial court judge at resentencing to deny the motion to disqualify himself, because this judge was a material witness to the ex parte communications. In Rose v. State, 601 So.2d 1181 (Fla.1992), this Court discussed the negative effect of ex parte communications: Nothing is more dangerous and destructive of the impartiality of the judiciary than a one-sided communication between a judge and a single litigant. . . . . . . Except under limited circumstances, no party should be allowed the advantage of presenting matters to or having matters decided by the judge without notice to all other interested parties. . . . . . . The guaranty of a fair and impartial trial can mean nothing less than this. . . . [W]e understand that this would not include strictly administrative matters not dealing in any way with the merits of the case. Id. at 1183 (quoting In re Clayton, 504 So.2d 394, 395 (Fla.1987) and State ex rel. Davis v. Parks, 141 Fla. 516, 194 So. 613, 615 (1939)). Unlike Rose and other cases in which this Court has ordered a resentencing, such as Reese v. State, 728 So.2d 727, 728 (Fla.1999), or ordered an evidentiary hearing on the improper ex parte communication issue, both parties in the instant matter were given an opportunity to make their arguments to the judge at the resentencing prior to the issuance of the sentencing order. After the jury returned its death recommendation, Gore responded negatively to the court's question as to whether there was anything additional that needed to be addressed. Subsequently, a notice of hearing, which was to occur on December 8, 1992, was sent to all parties on November 23, 1992. Gore was provided with the opportunity to make an argument as to the proposed mitigators and aggravators after December 4, 1992, which was the date the State's letter was filed with the trial court. Therefore, this letter from the State is not the type of ex parte communication with which this Court had concerns in Rose, which is a communication that risks the judge being unduly swayed by unrebutted remarks and destroys the appearance of the impartiality of the tribunal. 601 So.2d at 1183. Also, even though portions of the trial court's findings do closely resemble the language in material submitted by the State, the two are not identical. Instead, the trial court made additional findings that were not proposed by the State. For example, the trial court found that the CCP aggravator was supported by the fact that Gore concealed Elliot's body in the trunk of a vehicle and attempted to divert the police by making phony 911 calls. These arguments were not made by the State, demonstrating that the State did not effectively write the resentencing order through the material submitted. See Jones v. State, 845 So.2d 55, 64 (Fla.2003) (holding that the defendant failed to offer competent evidence that the resentencing court failed to engage in an independent weighing of aggravators and mitigators, because the version of the order drafted by the prosecutor was not identical to the final order entered by the trial judge). Therefore, during the Huff hearing, the trial court did not err in finding that the resentencing court independently weighed the aggravators and mitigators, rather than solely relying on the State's letter. Additionally, Gore's claim that the letter constituted an improper ex parte communication is based on speculation. See Jones, 845 So.2d at 64 (rejecting defendant's request for postconviction relief for an alleged improper ex parte contact, because the defendant's assertions were based on speculation and [p]ostconviction relief cannot be based on speculative assertions). Speculation just as easily supports the scenario that Gore's counsel was provided a copy of the State's letter, consistent with the letter's cc notation that indicated such, and that Gore's counsel may have misplaced the copy. At the Huff hearing, Gore withdrew his assertion that the trial court had requested that the State provide this letter, because there were no facts to back up that allegation. Accordingly, there is no support for Gore's argument that another resentencing is necessary due to an ex parte communication. The claim involving the motion filed by the State also fails on the merits. The State's motion requested action that was strictly administrative and had nothing to do with the merits of the case. See Arbelaez v. State, 775 So.2d 909, 916 (Fla.2000) (holding that an ex parte communication that involved the judge setting a time period for when a response to a 3.850 motion could be filed was strictly administrative under Rose ). The results of motion subject to this claim were as follows: (1) a hearing date was set; (2) defense counsel was appointed; and (3) a determination was made that Gore should be transported. These are not merit-related issues. [15] Accordingly, this ex parte communication involving the State's motion is also not improper. If an argument that the ex parte communications were improper is conclusively refuted by the record, the trial court's denial of an evidentiary hearing should be affirmed. See Waterhouse v. State, 792 So.2d 1176, 1189 (Fla.2001) (affirming the trial court's denial of an evidentiary hearing on the ineffective assistance claim involving the failure of defendant's counsel to impeach a State witness, because the claim was conclusively refuted by the record). Based upon our prior analysis determining that a resentencing is not warranted, we conclude that an evidentiary hearing on these alleged ex parte communications is also not needed because the record conclusively refutes Gore's argument that they were improper. Gore also claims it was error for the trial judge to deny the motion to disqualify, because this judge was a material witness to the allegedly improper ex parte communication. A motion to disqualify is governed substantively by section 38.10, Florida Statutes (2005), and procedurally by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.330. The rule provides that a motion to disqualify shall show that the party fears that he or she will not receive a fair trial or hearing because of specifically described prejudice or bias of the judge; or that the judge is either an interested party to the matter, related to an interested party, related to counsel, or is a material witness for or against one of the parties to the cause. Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(d). The standard of review of a trial judge's determination on a motion to disqualify is de novo. See Chamberlain v. State, 881 So.2d 1087, 1097 (Fla.2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 930, 125 S.Ct. 1669, 161 L.Ed.2d 495 (2005). Whether the motion is legally sufficient is a question of law. See Barnhill v. State, 834 So.2d 836, 843 (Fla.2002). The standard for determining the legal sufficiency of a motion to disqualify is whether the facts alleged, which must be assumed to be true, would cause the movant to have a well-founded fear that he or she will not receive a fair trial at the hands of that judge. See Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.330(d)(1). In the instant matter, there was no error in the trial court's denial of the motion to disqualify due to legal insufficiency, because the alleged ex parte communications with the trial judge, as noted above, were not improper. Compare Hodges v. State, 885 So.2d 338, 354 (Fla. 2004) (holding that the trial court did not err in rejecting defendant's motion to disqualify because the only basis supporting a well-grounded fear that he would not receive a fair trial was that the ex parte communications were improper, and this claim was rejected), with Roberts v. State, 840 So.2d 962, 968 (Fla.2002) (holding that the motion to disqualify was legally sufficient, because the judge had asked the State to draft the sentencing order and had failed to independently weigh the aggravators and mitigators).