Poorman v. Commonwealth

782 S.W.2d 603, 1989 Ky. LEXIS 85, 1989 WL 122568
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 19, 1989
DocketNo. 88-SC-481-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 782 S.W.2d 603 (Poorman v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Poorman v. Commonwealth, 782 S.W.2d 603, 1989 Ky. LEXIS 85, 1989 WL 122568 (Ky. 1989).

Opinion

LEIBSON, Justice.

Richard Poorman was convicted by a jury in Kenton Circuit Court for theft by deception, and thereafter pled guilty as a persistent felony offender. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, and his appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals has been affirmed. We have accepted Discretionary Review primarily because of an issue, first raised on Petition for Rehearing in the Court of Appeals, as to whether one of the three judge panel who decided the appeal against Poorman was required to disqualify because of prior contact with the case while sitting as a judge in Kenton District Court.

The conviction was based on evidence that the appellant wrote a cold check on a closed account for $2,375 to buy a 1978 Buick from a car dealer. The issues presented on appeal to the Court of Appeals were (1) failing to prove the appellant had an intent to deceive, (2) failing to prove venue before closing the case in chief, and (3) denying of the right to a speedy trial. The appeal was denied and the conviction affirmed by a unanimous decision. The Court of Appeals decided these three issues appropriately, and we affirm for the reasons stated therein. We turn our attention to the judicial disqualification issue.

The only record as to “facts” bearing on this issue are an Order entered by Judge Judy M. West on December 3, 1985, in her official capacity as Judge of Kenton District Court, Second Division, and the information in the Petition for Rehearing and Response filed in the Court of Appeals.

The Order from District Court specified that Richard Poorman was brought before the court charged with Theft by Deception Over $100, that the court found “probable cause that an offense has been committed, and that the Defendant committed the offense,” and that therefore the “Defendant be held to the next session of the Kenton County Grand Jury” with bond set at “$2000 10%.”

This record is supplemented by the “Petition for Rehearing” filed in the Court of Appeals, which states, inter alia, that when appellant’s counsel appeared for oral argument on March 18, 1988 in the Court-of Appeals, “he noted that Judge West was sitting as an appellate judge,” and:

“While Counsel did not specifically request Judge West to recuse herself from sitting on this case, and [sic., in] the dialogue which followed the Appellee’s oral argument Judge West noted her recollection of the case had been refreshed and she did, in fact, remember having handled the issue of bond to allow the Appellant to be returned to the State of Ohio.”

[605]*605The Commonwealth’s Response to the Petition for Rehearing states:

“As undersigned counsel recalls, this fact was mentioned at oral argument and waived by Poorman’s counsel.”

The Court of Appeals panel, Judge West included, denied the Petition for Rehearing without comment. There is nothing in the record to suggest that a motion or request for Judge West to disqualify was made as a contemporaneous objection, as is usually required to preserve a claim of error. RCr 10.12. The sole issue before us is whether the circumstances called for mandatory disqualification, i.e., automatic recusal. It is our opinion that such is not the case, and we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.

Appellant relies upon the language of KRS 26A.015(2)(a) and (e) in support of his claim that Judge West was required to disqualify herself even though his counsel did not so request until after the case was decided. This statute states, in pertinent part:

“(2) Any justice or judge of the Court of Justice ... shall disqualify himself in any proceeding:
(a) Where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceedings, or has expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the proceeding;
[[Image here]]
(e) Where he has knowledge of any other circumstances in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

At the outset we note that the disqualification of a justice or judge of the Court of Justice is a procedural matter assigned to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under § 116 of the new Judicial Article enacted in 1975. Nevertheless, because the Supreme Court has enacted a “Code of Judicial Conduct,” SCR 4.300, and the language of Canon 3 provides for “disqualification” in language similar to the statute, we will consider the disqualification issue on its merits under the Supreme Court Rules. The sentence structure of the Supreme Court Rule assists in clarifying the matter. The Rule provides:

“C. Disqualification
(1) A judge should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where:
(a) he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding;”

It is clear from this structure that (a), “knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding,” is simply illustrative of the major premise requiring recusal “in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” It is not a separate rule. Further, it is clear that the kind of knowledge which requires disqualification under (a) is “personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding,” and this refers to knowledge extra-judicially obtained rather than knowledge obtained in official capacity during the course of the proceeding. In short, a judge is not disqualified per se simply because of his prior participation in the case in a judicial capacity. This point is made in Marlowe v. Commonwealth, Ky., 709 S.W.2d 424, 428 (1986), quoting from United States v. Winston, 613 F.2d 221, 223 (1980), as follows:

“[Rjecusal is appropriate only when the information is derived from an extra-judicial source. Knowledge obtained in the course of earlier participation in the same case does not require a judge re-cuse himself.”

Nevertheless, under the major premise that a “judge should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned [Canon 3C, supra ],” we subscribe, as a general principle, to the premise that a judge should not “sit in review of a case decided by him.” Kendler v. Rutledge, 78 Ill.App.3d 312, 33 Ill.Dec. 585, 587, 396 N.E.2d 1309, 1311 (1979). But this general principle must be given common-sense application in the context of the presenting circumstances.

[606]*606The presenting circumstances in this case are:

(1) There was no issue on appeal directly or indirectly involving Judge West’s rulings at the probable cause and bond hearing. As appellate judge she was not called upon to review any decision she made at the District Court level.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dwayne A. Bruce v. Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2022
Wilson v. Askew
568 S.W.3d 375 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2019)
State v. D. Strang
2017 MT 217 (Montana Supreme Court, 2017)
Hinton v. State
172 So. 3d 348 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2012)
Bullock v. Peabody Coal Co.
882 S.W.2d 676 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1994)
Lovett v. Commonwealth
858 S.W.2d 205 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1993)
Sommers v. Commonwealth
843 S.W.2d 879 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1992)
Kentucky Utilities Co. v. South East Coal Co.
836 S.W.2d 407 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
782 S.W.2d 603, 1989 Ky. LEXIS 85, 1989 WL 122568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/poorman-v-commonwealth-ky-1989.