Turner v. State

ALLEN, Judge.

Appealing his conviction and sentence for burglary, the appellant contends that the trial judge erred when he denied the appellant’s motion to disqualify the judge. Although the appellant’s motion was legally deficient in several respects, the judge challenged the truthfulness of the appellant’s allegations when he ruled on the motion and thereby committed reversible error.

Although the appellant had appointed counsel, his motion to disqualify the trial judge was filed pro se. In the motion, he requested permission to serve as his own co-counsel for purposes of the motion. By…