INTRODUCTION
Ethical violations occur in every business field, and the criminal justice system in no different. News reports are not scant concerning individuals in law enforcement, corrections and the courts who have violated ethical codes. Ethical codes exist in the criminal justice field to not only protect the official, but also to protect the public. When an individual in the field of criminal justice violates an ethical code, typically, many people are affected, and it does not matter if the violation was intentional or unintentional, or real or simply alleged.
FACTS
Judge John P. Contini, a judge in Broward County Florida, has been accused of ethical violations. He sent an email to a public defender notifying him of a recent court decision that could possibly help him in his research and cases. When the State Attorney’s office became aware of the email, the State said the Judge was no longer neutral in his courtroom and filed a motion to disqualify the judge from many cases. The motion for the judge to disqualify himself was actually presented to the judge himself. So, the Judge overruled the motion, and the State appealed. Because the motion was appealed to the higher court, all the cases before the Judge were put on hold.
In the meantime, the Judge made several inappropriate remarks about the appeal to several attorneys and called the appeal attorneys “idiots”. The Judge continued to make disapproving remarks about the Attorney General and the appeal, regardless of being told not to. The judge was also asked to remove himself from the criminal court, but refused for a long time. However, eventually he did transfer to family court. All the things that the judge was doing and saying was being reported in the media, and this placed a negative view on the judge and his role of a judge.
Some facts that are important include: The judge had only been on the bench for a few months when this situation occurred. The judge’s email to the Public Defender did not mention any particular case, and many attorneys’ claimed that the judge was not showing favoritism or impartiality, but rather he was trying to ease the caseload for all. The disciplinary committee found the judge to be in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct after the appeals court told the committee about what the judge was doing. In the judge’s response to the ethic’s violation charges, he admitted that he had provided assistance to the defense attorney, and he also admitted that he acted unprofessional toward prosecutor’s following the filing of the appeal.
The Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida contains the ethical principles and guidelines that must be followed by judges. The Judge was found to have violated several Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including Canons 1, 2a, 3(b)4, 3(b)7, 3(b)9, (3) e1, 4(a)1, 4(a)2, 4(a)3, 4(a)4, (4) a5, 5(a)1, 5(a)2, 5(a)3, 5(a)4, 5(a)5. The five Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct that the judge violated provide the following ethical duties: Canon 1 states that a judge “shall uphold the integrity and independence of the Judiciary”. Canon 2 states that a judge “shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities”. Canon 3 states that a judge shall perform his duties impartial and diligent. Canon 4 states that a judge should engage in activities to improve the legal system, and Canon 5 states that a Judge shall regulate extrajudicial activities.
The subsection of the Canons provides further details on the ethical duties for each Canon. Canon 2a states that a judge shall respect the law and act with integrity and impartiality. Canon 3(b)4 states that a judge shall be patient and courteous to lawyers. Canon 3(b)7 states a judge shall not engage in ex parte communications with lawyers on cases . Canon 3(b)9 states that a judge shall not make comments that could impair the fairness of a trial or hearing . Canon 4(a)1 states that should conduct quasi-judicial activities impartially . Canon 4(a) states the judge must not undermine his impartiality in conducting quasi-judicial activities . Canon 4(a)3 states that a judge shall not demean the office of judiciary . Canon 4(a)4 stats that a judge must not interfere with judicial duties . Canon 4(a)5 states that a judge must conduct quasi-judicial activities that lead to his disqualification . Canon 5(a)1-5 states that a judge shall not conduct extra-judicial activities that can cast doubt on his impartiality, undermine his impartiality, demean the office, interfere with the judiciary, or lead to disqualification frequently.
RESOLUTION
The Judge was found in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. A hearing to determine his appropriate discipline is scheduled to occur in the near future. The Judge may simply be reprimanded, or he could possibly be removed from his position as a judge. It is hard to predict how the ruling will go to the judge. Judges who have lost their tempers and made inappropriate remarks in the past have not been removed from office. Judges have been reprimanded both privately and publicly for such behavior however.
AFFECT OF VIOLATIONS
The judge’s ethical violations affect many people, including the judge himself. The judge’ position was affected as was all those that were employed in this court. They likely faced a lot of stress due to the situation. The attorney in the public defender’s office that the judge emailed was affected as well. He was likely questioned by his management. The other attorneys in the public defender’s office were affected as well, due to the accusations that the judge was favoring them. The prosecutors were also affected. Not only the ones that the judge confronted, but likely the entire office has significant stress over the situation. Additionally, 0Over 1,000 felony cases were put on hold pending the resolution of the judge’s ethical hearing. This caused delay in each of these cases, affecting not only the defendants in the cases, but the victims as well as the prosecutor’s office. The violations as reported by the media also likely had an effect on the criminal justice system as a whole. When ethical violations occur, there seems to be a many people affected. This is one of the significant reasons that a code of ethics exists, and why those who violate the code are punished accordingly.
OPINION
The case against the judge has not been resolved so it is too early to express an opinion about the results. However, I do have an opinion about the whole situation. It seems to me that the judge was really not in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct other than making disparaging remarks. He did apologize for the remarks. I am of the opinion that there is more behind this story than meets the eye. I think that it likely has to do with politics.
It appears as though the appeals court was very eager to stop the judge from engaging in the conduct that he was accused of. It may be that I am missing something because the judge to not partake in impartiality when he sent the email, at least not to the extent of affecting an actual existing case. The judge worked in both the public defender’s and prosecutor’s office prior to sitting on the bench. It was does not seem that the email was that bad. Yes, the judge sent an email to the defense attorney. However, he was not providing advice on a case. The email simply notified him of a recent opinion that would likely assist him in some of his cases. The judge was intentionally general in the email as well.
The judge’s actions toward the prosecutor and Attorney General’s office were inappropriate however. He was definitely out of line in the things that he Yet, I just do not believe that it amounted to ethical violations. He was angry for being accused of impartiality. He did apologize for what he said. It will be very interesting to see what the results will be at his hearing.
Works cited
Clark, Kristen M. Brownard Circuit Court Judge Charged with Ethics Violations. n.d. Web. <http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2015/11/broward-circuit-judge-charged-with-ethics-violations.html>.
<http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/ethics/index.shtml>.
Inquiry Concerning A Judge, The Honorable John Patrict Contini. No. 15-200. Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission. 2015.
Olmeda, Rafael. Broward Judge Contini prepares for misconduct hearing. Web. 13 March 2016. <http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-contini-jqc-preparation-20160313-story.html>.
