Fla. Judge on Hot Seat in Ethics Hearing
Lawyers will be soon be testifying against a judge before a Florida hearing panel that has been convened to determine whether a Miami-area jurist violated ethics rules and bullied attorneys and other trial participants.
According to an attorney for the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Judge Cheryl Alemán violated ethics canons by failing to be ”patient, dignified, and courteous,” reports the Miami Herald. The JQC also contends, among other claims, that Alemán wrongly jailed a Coral Springs attorney for missing a non-urgent hearing, even though she knew he was out of town at the time.
However, lawyers for the Broward Circuit Court judge say Alemán did nothing wrong. In court filings, they describe the JQC case against her as ”extraordinary and dangerous” because it focuses on disagreements with her judicial rulings.
”All of my behavior, I believe, has complied with all the canons of judicial conduct,” Alemán testified this morning.
She formerly was a criminal judge but now handles civil trials.
