Paul Serdula was convicted of multiple sexual offenses after the trial judge denied his motion to recuse based on an alleged close relationship between the judge and the Cobb County District Attorney. The Georgia Court of Appeals reviewed the recusal issue de novo. It held that the motion should not have been denied without assigning it to another judge for decision, because the challenged judge could not decide the merits of a request alleging a disqualifying relationship. The court vacated Serdula’s convictions and remanded for a different judge to resolve the recusal motion. It declined to decide whether the district attorney would have to be disqualified in future proceedings because the record did not show whether that attorney had been involved in Serdula’s earlier defense. The court also explained that an argument based on a document outside the trial record presented nothing for review. The convictions were vacated and the case was remanded for further proceedings.