Florida Court Releases Opinion In Judge Removal For Campaign Misconduct
The Florida Supreme Court approved the sanction of removal from office of a county court judge for campaigning violations.
The court issued an opinion last week following its July decision.
The judge had hired a campaign consultant who played hardball
In October of 2016, your campaign published an e[-]mail addressed to potential voters, which lists your experience as a probation officer, a victim services advocate for victims of rape, homicide and domestic violence. Your advertisement then states that your opponent’s legal practice is “limited to criminal defense— representing murderers, rapists, child molesters and other criminals.”
A Facebook webpage offered the “truth” about her opponent
The headline banner of this page proclaimed that, “Attorney Gregg Lerman has made a lot of money trying to free Palm Beach County’s worst criminals. Now he’s running for
judge!” Below that, a photograph of Mr. Lerman was surrounded by the words, “CHILD PORNOGRAPHY,” “DRUG TRAFFICKING,” “MURDER[,]” “Identity Theft,” “RAPE,” “Sexual Assault,” “Internet Solicitation of Minors,” and “PEDOPHILES.” [emphasis used in original]
The court
Santino’s numerous statements during her campaign evidenced a bias against criminal defendants, toward whom she imputed guilt; against criminal defense attorneys, whom she implied had some character fault because they “choose” to represent criminal defendants; and in favor of victims, whom she boasted that she worked to protect during her legal career. Such statements are sufficient to create fear on the behalf of criminal defendants—who are entitled to a presumption of innocence under the basic tenets of our judicial system—that they would not receive a fair trial or hearing…
Simply stated, Santino’s conduct does not evidence a present fitness to hold judicial office. It is “difficult to allow one guilty of such egregious conduct to retain the benefits of those violations and remain in office.” Alley, 699 So. 2d at 1370. We refuse to endorse a “win-at-all-costs-and-pay-the-fine-later” strategy, especially in light of our past warnings and stated intolerance for the kinds of campaign violations at issue here. By her own admission, had we imposed a fine as a sanction, it would confirm that Santino’s violations were “not a big deal.” Moreover, if this Court imposed a suspension, it would send a message to all attorneys campaigning for judicial office that they may commit egregious violations of Canon 7 during their campaigns and if they win, a suspension or a fine or both will be the only result. They will be allowed to reap the benefits of their misconduct by continuing to serve the citizens of this state. This we cannot condone. Accordingly, we continue to share the sentiments of the JQC:
We are mindful of—and heavy-hearted about—the testimony of Judge Santino’s witnesses that she is beloved by many, and a judge with a strong work ethic. However, were we to countenance her studied and continued refusal to abide by Canon 7, we would ourselves be undermining the rules governing judicial elections.
Justice Lewis concurred in the result only
Today, the majority has chosen to sanitize and soften the facts surrounding the campaign misconduct committed in this case apparently in the interest of political correctness or for some other reason. The circumstances of this case, however, are so egregious and so reprehensible that any attempt to refine them does a disservice to the bench and to our judicial system as a whole and it further diminishes the citizen’s trust in the judiciary beyond the damage that Santino has already inflicted. I simply cannot endorse the sanitized rendition of the facts with the omission of the actual published material along with the analysis that the majority adopts. Nevertheless, I support the JQC’s recommended sanction of removal, given the nature of the facts in this case and this Court’s precedent, which has long stated our intolerance for judicial candidate misconduct such as that at issue in the present case…
I refuse to endorse Santino’s “win-at-all-costs-and-pay-the-fine-later” strategy, especially in light of this Court’s past warnings and stated intolerance for the kinds of campaign
violations at issue here. By her own admission, if this Court simply imposed a fine in an attempt to evidence the enormity of Santino’s reprehensible behavior, it would be seen as “no big deal” in her eyes.
Justice Polston dissent and would impose a 90-day unpaid suspension.
In this matter involving serious campaign misrepresentations in violation of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, I would impose a very severe discipline of a 90-day suspension without pay, a $50,000 fine plus the cost of these proceedings, and a public reprimand. However, unlike the majority, I would not follow the JQC’s recommendation of removal because removal is not consistent with our precedent involving this type of serious campaign misconduct. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
(Mike Frisch)