Public Reprimand Recommended for Fla. Appeals Court Judge
A Florida appeals court judge who criticized a fellow jurist in a written opinion should be publicly reprimanded, a hearing panel has recommended.
It is now up to the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether to reprimand 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Michael Allen in the highly unusual case, if he challenges the recommendation. The matter concerns a claim by Allen in a written opinion that a fellow appeals court justice in the 1st District, Charles Kahn Jr., cast what the Fort Mill Times characterizes as a “corrupt vote” in a case against a former president of the Florida state senate.
Allen’s opinion was “reckless and had no objectively reasonable factual basis,” the state Judicial Qualifications Commission wrote in an opinion issued today. “He succumbed to his dislike of Judge Kahn, which clouded his perspective and his judgment.”
However, the panel said it didn’t think a harsh punishment was warranted, given Allen’s generally good work as a judge.
The discipline case is unique in Florida, where no state judge has ever been disciplined over the content of a written opinion, according to Allen’s lawyer, Bruce Rogow. He also says he has found no comparable cases on point in other jurisdictions.
Allen denied at a hearing in June that he had violated judicial ethics standards. “Rogow said he also was pleased that the panel dismissed a second complaint alleging Allen had lied under oath by denying he had no animosity toward Kahn and that it appeared to invite an investigation of alleged extramarital affairs Kahn had with court personnel,” the article in the South Carolina newspaper concludes.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Fla. Appeals Judge Faces New Charges Over Critique of Fellow Jurist in Opinion”
