Fla. Appeals Judge Faces New Charges Over Critique of Fellow Jurist in Opinion
Asked to explain why he had criticized a fellow appellate court jurist in a written opinion, Judge Michael E. Allen reportedly told the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission that he had no personal animosity against Judge Charles J. Kahn Jr.
But the commission apparently didn’t believe Allen, and has now filed perjury charges against the 18-year judge, too, because of this testimony, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Initially, Allen was facing only charges of conduct unbecoming a judge, which remain unresolved, concerning his criticism of Kahn.
As discussed in previous ABAJournal.com posts, the unusual judicial ethics complaint has led to spirited courtroom debate in the case.
Allen’s lawyer contends a judge has a right to express his opinion in a case, and says the ethics charge against him is unprecedented. But the attorney representing the commission argued that this right is subject to legal ethics standards, and said Allen’s comments undermined public confidence in the judiciary and were based on unverified newspaper articles.
Allen sits on the state’s 1st District Court of Appeal, as does Kahn. His tenure there has been controversial, as the St. Pete Times reports in an earlier article, leading him to step down as chief judge, although he did not resign from the court.
A trial in the case made against Allen by the commission’s original ethics complaint (PDF) had been scheduled for March, but the parties agreed to postpone it while the new charges are addressed.
