Judge Charged With Endorsing Artificial Deepfake In Election Campaign

The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has filed charges alleging election misconduct by an elected Broward County circuit court judge

During your 2024 campaign for election to the Broward County Court in the Seventeenth Circuit, you became aware of a former technology officer in the office of the Court Administrator for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. The employee, who was terminated from his employment, self-published an e-book called The Ninth Circus Court of Florida, My 30-Year Job from Hell! The e-book, which is full of gratuitous profanity, begins with a disclaimer and a list of over 1,300 synonyms for the word “sex.” The e-book portrays the judiciary in the Ninth Judicial Circuit as corrupt and  incompetent and attacks the character of former Chief Judges of the Ninth Circuit, Belvin Perry and Donald Myers, the current Chief Judge, Lisa Munyon, and others.

There was a website related to the former Ninth Judicial Circuit employee which contained links to recordings of purported phone calls between government officials. One of the recordings claimed to be an 18-minute call between Chief Judge Munyon and Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Mufiiz, who are joined on the call by Florida Supreme Court Justice Renatha Francis. On the recording, the voices are purported to be Chief Justice Mufiiz and Justice Francis criticizing Judge Munyon and others for bringing disgrace to the judiciary and putting the State of Florida at risk of losing millions of dollars because of the former Ninth Judicial Circuit employee’s termination. The recording is fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative-AI. While the voices resemble those of the purported participants, the manner of speech, tone, and much of the content are objectively unrealistic. For example, the recording includes Chief Judge Munyon purportedly participants, the manner of speech, tone, and much of the content are objectively unrealistic. For example, the recording includes Chief Judge Munyon purportedly saying the following to the two Justices about former Chief Judge Perry

If I can speak frankly, I sincerely believe that Belvin’s first love is power, then money, then white women. I’m not trying to he be glib, but my guess is if Belvin could have a perfect death would be buried under the Lincoln Memorial next to Clarence Thomas in a solid gold coffin and have a live white hooker buried with him as a sacrifice.

Charge

Probable cause exists as to the following

1. A theme of your 2024 campaign was to restore the public’s trust in the justice system. While seeking a valuable endorsement by the editorial board of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, you stated “recent revelations from the Ninth Circuit have highlighted an image crisis within Florida’s judiciary.” a. You did not exercise due diligence to determine the reasonableness of the former Ninth Judicial Circuit employee’s claims before using them to help your campaign b. You cited the former Ninth Judicial Circuit employee’s e-book to the editorial board as your only example of the judiciary’s image crisis despite not having read any of it.
2. When the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board contacted you later about the above statement and questioned your reference to the Ninth Judicial Circuit, you attempted to defend your statement by providing a link to the fabricated phone call between the two Justices and Chief Judge Munyon. You listened to the recording, and specifically heard the italicized excerpt on page 2 of this notice, before providing it to the editorial board.

The judge is charged with failing to exercise due diligence and sharing the fabricated recording despite evidence that it was inauthentic. 

Artificially created deepfakes are a tool for misinformation and digital impersonation used to influence elections and spread disinformation Your campaign theme was to restore the public’s trust, but your behavior did the opposite and brought harm to the dignity and integrity of the judiciary. Rather than promote public confidence in the judiciary, your actions eroded public confidence by perpetuating a false perception of illegal, unethical, or immoral conduct by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court, a Chief Judge, and others working within the judicial branch.

Your actions constitute inappropriate conduct in violation of Canon 7A(3)(b) of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct.

From the answer to the charges

Judge Peffer denies that she had a “win at all costs” attitude in the judicial election as implied in the Amended Formal Charges. In 2024, Judge Peffer was a first-time judicial candidate for a county court seat in Broward County. After building a career as an animal rights advocate and founding a non-profit animal rescue organization, Judge Peffer ran for judicial office against a candidate known for his work in child advocacy and criminal defense. Given their shared commitment to the protection of vulnerable residents and their mutual respect for each other’s work, Judge Peffer and her opponent fostered a courteous, positive, and professional relationship which lasted throughout the election and after.

Judge Peffer and her opponent often appeared together in interviews during their candidacy for the county court bench. In preparation for an interview with the Sun Sentinel, the judicial candidates were asked to reply to a questionnaire. The questionnaire asked about “three major challenges facing the judicial system in Broward County, Florida, or the U.S.” Judge Peffer answered that she believed the three major challenges in Broward County were “Ensuring Equity and Fair Treatment,” “Rebuilding Trust and Confidence,” and “Enhancing Public Awareness and Education.”

Within the same written answer, Judge Peffer elaborated that “recent revelations from the Ninth Circuit have highlighted an image crisis within the Florida’s judiciary.” She further explained that she believed it was important for “Broward County’s judiciary to set the standard for equitable and ethical treatment of its residents and constituents rebuilding trust and confidence in the judicial system is paramount and requires a commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct.”

During the interview with the editorial board of the Sun Sentinel, Judge Peffer was asked for examples of challenges facing the judicial system. Judge Peffer recalled a book by a former courthouse employee that had a critical view of the justice system, and she referenced the book in response to the editorial board. Judge Peffer did not read the book referenced in the Amended Formal Charges. Judge Peffer did not intend to promote the validity of the book but instead, she intended to point to the book as an example of criticism of the judiciary.

Following the interview with the Sun Sentinel, and at the newspaper’s request, Judge Peffer provided a link to the recording described in the Amended Formal Charges, which had been forwarded to her by another lawyer. Judge Peffer had not carefully listened to the call but had a recollection that the judiciary was being criticized in the recording. Judge Peffer acknowledges that she should have more carefully listened to the recording before referencing it in her answers to the editorial board. In responding to these proceedings, Judge Peffer listened to the recordings without distraction, and it was immediately apparent that the purported phone call was a “deep fake.”

The docket entries are linked here. (Mike Frisch)