JOHN YOUNG SONG v. THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed February 2, 2022.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D22-0079
Lower Tribunal No. F18-22750
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John Young Song,
Petitioner,
vs.
The State of Florida,
Respondent.
A Case of Original Jurisdiction – Prohibition.
Braun Law Group, PLLC, and David J. Braun (Pembroke Pines), for
petitioner.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Ivy R. Ginsberg, Assistant
Attorney General, for respondent.
Before SCALES, HENDON, and MILLER, JJ.
MILLER, J.
Petitioner, John Young Song, seeks a writ of prohibition to prevent the
assigned trial judge from further presiding over his criminal case. His verified
disqualification motion, deemed legally insufficient below, recites the trial
court’s reference to his occupation as a law enforcement officer in denying
his motion for modification of pretrial release conditions. If viewed in
isolation, the reference might invoke a concern of partiality. However, here,
a full review of the transcript of the proceedings reveals the trial court merely
considered all relevant factors in ruling upon the motion and refused to afford
petitioner any special treatment. Because it is a well-settled principle that
adverse rulings, without more, do not constitute the requisite bias or
prejudice necessary to support disqualification, petitioner has failed to
demonstrate a basis for relief. Mendoza v. State, 87 So. 3d 644, 664 (Fla.
2011).
Petition denied.
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