Charles Edward Foy seeks review of the denial of his motion seeking disqualification of the trial judge. Foy contends that the trial judge erred by denying his legally sufficient motion for disqualification. We affirm.
Foy was charged with, and pled nolo contendere to one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in familial or
Foy alleged in his motion to disqualify that certain comments made by Judge Mathis at the sentencing hearing demonstrate bias. The comments complained of were:
The sad thing in this case is not ... just that Mr. Foy has ruined his life and it’s not just that he’s ruined this victim’s life, and it’s not his fault, this particular part of it is not his fault. I have to agree with the State, the letter that Ms. Parks wrote, that she wrote directly to me and I put in the court file and sent copies out, was a perfect example of someone who has no idea what she’s talking about and writes letters saying, this man didn’t do anything; you can’t believe this child, and this is terrible.
And you know, the sad thing in this case is that this child is the real victim. She is not just a victim of Mr. Foy, she is a victim of the people that are supporting Mr. Foy. She is a victim of her mother, who chose to stay with Mr. Foy instead of taking care of her daughter. ...
But I’m not sentencing Mr. Foy for what they did. I can’t. I can’t consider that when I consider a sentence.
I have to also agree with the State that there is no cure for pedophilia. And if you get one of these doctor’s aside who treats pedophiles and you get them in a place where they’re not testifying and they’re talking to you as a human being, they will tell you, we can’t make them stop doing it, only they can make themselves stop, and the treatment doesn’t do a bit of good. Someone that will do something like this to a child, you can’t sit him down and getting counseling sessions and make him not do it again.
Mr. Foy, I’m sorry that you ruined your life. I’m sorry that you ruined this child’s life. And I wish that there was some sentence that I could craft [that] would ensure protection of society other than what I’m crafting. I’m not sure that this will even do it.
A motion to disqualify a judge must establish a fear on the part of the movant that he or she will not receive a fair and impartial hearing. See Quince v. State,
Foy argues his motion was legally sufficient and cites Torres v. State,
The fear of judicial bias must be objectively reasonable. State v. Shaw,
AFFIRMED.
Notes
. The legal efficacy of the "Motion to Vacate Sentence, Reconsider Sentence and Resen-tence Defendant” is not an issue in this appeal. Accordingly, we express no opinion as to whether such motion is an authorized motion, and, if authorized, meritorious.
. See also Jones v. State,
