A Court Is Limited to Determining the Legal Sufficiency of a Motion to Disqualify It

In considering a motion to disqualify, a court is limited to determining the legal sufficiency of the motion itself and may not pass on the truth of the facts alleged. Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.160(f); see also Suarez v. Dugger, 527 So. 2d 190 (Fla. 1988). Whether the motion is legally sufficient requires a determination as to whether the alleged facts would create in a reasonably prudent person a well-founded fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial. See MacKenzie v. Super Kids Bargain Store, Inc., 565 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 1990). In Rose v. State, 601 So. 2d 1181, 1183 (Fla. 1992), this Court held that "a judge should not engage in any conversation about a pending case with only one of the parties participating in that conversation. Obviously, we understand that this would not include strictly administrative matters not dealing in any way with the merits of the case."