The defendant brought a motion to recuse the justice of the peace on grounds of reasonable apprehension of bias.
The defendant's agent alleged that the justice had exhibited hostility towards paralegals and agents in prior proceedings, specifically citing an incident involving another paralegal in a different matter and historical treatment of agents in 2004 when they lacked Law Society licensing.
The justice rejected the motion, finding the allegations were unsubstantiated, lacked specificity, and did not meet the threshold for establishing a reasonable apprehension of bias.
The justice noted that the paralegal in question was not representing the defendant and that the 2004 practice predated the licensing of paralegals by the Law Society.