Johnson v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida
1Opinion of the Court
SHEVIN, Judge.
We affirm the order denying defendant’s post conviction relief motion, except as to the first issue raised by defendant. Defendant’s motion is facially sufficient on this issue: trial counsel was ineffective for refusing defendant’s request that he move to disqualify the trial judge upon being informed that the trial judge was a friend of the victim’s husband, and possibly of the victim. Counsel’s refusal cannot be summarily endorsed as a tactical or strategic decision. See Waters v. State, 779 So.2d 625 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); Romano v. State, 562 So.2d 406 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990).…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Valle v. StateSupreme Court of Florida · 1997
- Waters v. StateDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida · 2001
- Romano v. StateDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida · 1990
- Caughron v. StateDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida · 2000