Judge Disqualified Where Attorney Is Facebook Friend

A judge may not oversee a trial when he is a Facebook friend of an attorney arguing before the court, the Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, held Sept. 5 in an unsigned per curiam opinion (Domville v. State, Fla. Dist. Ct. App., 4D12-556, 9/5/12).

The court said that Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Opinion 2009-20 (9 PVLR 242, 2/8/10) made clear that judges should avoid friending attorneys who appear before them on social networking sites to avoid the impression that the attorney is “in a special position to influence the judge.” That appearance ...