Case Title: In Re Removal of a Chief Judge

Citation: 592 So. 2d 671

Docket Number: 79206

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 1992-01-17T00:00:00Z

Document:
592 So. 2d 671 (1992)
In re Petition for REMOVAL OF A CHIEF JUDGE.
No. 79206.

Supreme Court of Florida.
January 17, 1992.
William D. Brinton, Jacksonville, on behalf of members in good standing of The Florida Bar practicing law in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and Benjamin H. Hill III, President, Tampa, and John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, Tallahassee, of The Florida Bar and by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, for petitioner.
Samuel S. Jacobson of Datz, Jacobson & Lembcke, P.A., Jacksonville, for respondent.
PER CURIAM.
We have before us a petition to remove Judge John E. Santora from the office of Chief Judge of Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit.[1] We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; Fla.R.Jud.Admin. 2.050(c). We grant the petition and order his removal as Chief Judge.
On December 22, 1991, The Florida Times-Union, a newspaper of general circulation in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, published remarks made by Judge Santora to a Times-Union reporter in an interview. The published remarks concern interracial dating and marriage, the effect of integration on crime in the public schools, the provocative manner of dress of female students, the prevalence of blacks on welfare and in the criminal justice system, and the propriety of making racial slurs and telling racial jokes in private. The full text of the published statements is appended to this opinion. Following publication of the article, *672 numerous individuals and groups called for Judge Santora to resign as Chief Judge and to relinquish his circuit judgeship.
Based on the newspaper article, petitioners, who consist of a group of twenty members of The Florida Bar,[2] allege the following:
Petitioners urge this Court to act in its administrative supervisory capacity and remove Judge Santora from the office of Chief Judge.
Judge Santora does not deny giving the interview, but rather claims that the newspaper account gives an incomplete explanation of the circumstances under which the interview was given and asserts that the published statements do not accurately reflect his personal beliefs. He notes that he has apologized publicly for the comments and asserts that he has always been and will remain an impartial Chief Judge.[3]
The sole issue we decide today is whether Judge Santora's published statements have significantly compromised his ability to function effectively as Chief Judge in administering the courts of the Fourth Circuit.
The position of Chief Judge is especially important, for the Chief Judge serves as both the chief administrative officer and chief judicial officer within the circuit. See Fla.R.Jud.Admin. 2.050(b). In this capacity, he or she must work effectively with the judiciary, court employees, and the community at large. In his or her dealings with the public in particular, the Chief Judge is perceived as a prime representative of not only the judiciary but the entire system of justice. The position thus is a highly responsible one, requiring the utmost in sensitivity and discretion in the conduct of those who hold it. The actions of the Chief Judge, both professional and personal, must be consistent with the highest ideals embodied by our law.
Because Judge Santora's candid public statements, freely given to a newspaper reporter, have been read by a significant portion of the community as affirmatively embracing and endorsing discriminatory stereotypes that are inimical to the laws of this state, the interests of the judiciary, and the oft-stated policies of this Court, we conclude that his actions have significantly eroded his ability to work effectively with all segments of the community in administering the courts within the Fourth Judicial Circuit in his present office as Chief Judge. We recognize that the residents of the circuit are sharply divided over this issue. It was Judge Santora's actions, however, that led to this divisiveness. To ensure the orderly operation of the courts, it is necessary that someone other than the judge whose comments precipitated this controversy serve as Chief Judge. Accordingly, we order that Judge John E. Santora, Jr. be removed as Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit,[4] effective upon filing of this opinion, and that a new Chief Judge be selected pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration *673 2.050. In the interim, the duties of the office of Chief Judge shall be performed by the circuit judge within the Fourth Circuit having the longest continuous service as judge or by one so designated by that judge.
It is so ordered.
SHAW, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD, BARKETT, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.
HARDING, J., recused.
[1]  The issue of Judge Santora's fitness to serve as circuit judge is not before us.
[2]  The petitioners include three past presidents of The Florida Bar, the current president of the Jacksonville Bar Association, the president-elect of the Jacksonville Bar Association, six past presidents of the Jacksonville Bar Association, the current president of the Clay County Bar Association, two members of The Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, and two members of the Board of Governors of the Jacksonville Bar Association, among others.
[3]  In his response to the instant petition, Judge Santora raises no issue of material fact requiring a hearing.
[4]  We do not address Judge Santora's fitness to serve as circuit judge.