Case Name: Arden M. MERCKLE, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1988-06-09
Citations: 529 So. 2d 269
Docket Number: No. 70778
Parties: Arden M. MERCKLE, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Judges: MCDONALD, C.J., and OVERTON, EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., and LARRY G. SMITH, Associate Justice, concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 529
Pages: 269–275

Head Matter:
Arden M. MERCKLE, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
No. 70778.
Supreme Court of Florida.
June 9, 1988.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 31, 1988.
Frank Ragano of Frank Ragano, P.A., Tampa, for petitioner.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Gary 0. Welch, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We have for review Merckle v. State, 512 So.2d 948, 951 (Fla.2d DCA 1987), in which the district court upheld the departure sentence given Merckle by the trial court and certified the following question to be of great public importance:
Whether a circuit judge's conduct in accepting a bribe and the attendant impact of such conduct on societal values and the destruction of confidence of the public in the administration of justice constitute clear and convincing reasons for departure from the recommended guidelines sentence?
We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4), Florida Constitution. We answer the certified question in the affirmative and approve the decision of the district court.
This case, as well as State v. Hope, 529 So.2d 275 (Fla.1988), concerns the bribery of a circuit judge by a relative of a criminal defendant appearing before that judge in return for lenient sentencing for the criminal defendant. David Hope, charged with drug trafficking, went to his uncle, Richard Hope, for help in dealing with the criminal charges. Richard Hope helped his nephew by bribing Judge Arden Merckle, who used his position as chief judge to reschedule his docket so that David Hope's case would be before him. Merckle then took David Hope's plea, withheld adjudication, placed Hope on probation, and gave him a fine— much more lenient punishment than that sought by the state attorney. A jury convicted Richard Hope of bribing a public official and Merckle of receiving a bribe.
In sentencing Merckle to five years' imprisonment the trial court departed from the recommended guidelines sentence of any nonstate prison sanction, giving the following reasons for that departure:
1. The defendant abused his status as chief circuit judge, with administrative control over the other judges in the circuit, by accepting a bribe of money in exchange for granting an unjustly lenient sentence in a serious criminal case which he caused to be "judge shopped" to himself.
2. The defendant's conduct had a severe impact (out of proportion to the impact of lesser incidences which might otherwise arise under convictions for bribery and unlawful compensation) on societal values and the confidence of the general public because of the defendant's violation of the public's trust and the shame and disgrace he brought to the judicial system.
3. The motive of the defendant as manifested by the manner in which he spent part of the bribery proceeds by taking a trip to Europe while he was being besieged by bill collectors.
4. The statutes proscribing bribery and unlawful compensation should carry the penalty of a second degree felony.
5. The penalty provided for in the sentencing guidelines is insufficient.
On appeal the second district struck the last three reasons but upheld the first two. The court affirmed Merckle's sentence, holding that under the standard enunciated by this Court in Albritton v. State, 476 So.2d 158 (Fla.1985), the trial court would, beyond a reasonable doubt, impose the same sentence based on the remaining, valid reasons for departure. The district court certified the above-styled question to facilitate review of that decision.
Bribery is defined in subsection 838.-015(1), Florida Statutes (1985):
"Bribery" means corruptly to give, offer, or promise to any public servant, or, if a public servant, corruptly to request, solicit, accept, or agree to accept for himself or another, any pecuniary or other benefit with an intent or purpose to influence the performance of any act or omission which the person believes to be, or the public servant represents as being, within the official discretion of a public servant, in violation of a public duty, or in performance of a public duty.
The legislature has deemed this conduct to constitute a third-degree felony. § 838.015(3), Fla.Stat. (1985). Merckle was charged with and found guilty of the offense of bribery, based on actions described in the statute quoted above. Merckle claims that the trial court justified departure from the guidelines by describing the conduct of which the jury convicted him, but that his acts were inherent components of the offense of bribery. According to Merckle, therefore, those reasons (abusing status as circuit judge; accepting a bribe; breach of public trust) are necessary components of any crime of bribery. We disagree because of Merckle's status as a judge.
The bribery statute proscribes certain conduct on the part of a "public servant." A judge, however, is different from, for example, a police officer, a building inspector, a state attorney, the governor, a cabinet officer, or any high-ranking officer. This is because judges hold a unique place in our democratic society. They preside over and provide a forum where the rights and responsibilities of citizens are defined, enforced, and protected, and their decisions affect life, liberty, and property rights. Judges' roles in society are distinct and different from those of other public servants. They must be independent in thinking and accountable in conduct.
Judges alone, of all public servants, may not be lobbied by interested parties. No one who has a matter before a judge may talk to him ex parte. A judge's business is that of judging. He neither represents the state nor a citizen. He does not advocate a position and espouses only the cause of justice. He sits in ultimate judgment, answerable only to the law, his conscience, and his constitutional oath. A judge is, therefore, by the position of his office, different.
No other public servants are subject to as stringent a code of ethics as are judges. Our Code of Ethics, as adopted in In Re The Florida Bar—Code of Judicial Conduct, 281 So.2d 21 (Fla.1973), and amended August 3, 1976 (336 So.2d 584), contains the following exhortations and admonitions:
An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing, and should himself observe, high standards of conduct so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved. The provisions of this Code should be construed and applied to further that objective.
*
A judge should respect and comply with the law and should conduct himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
*
A judge should not allow his personal relationships to influence his judicial conduct or judgment. He should not lend the prestige of his office to advance the private interests of others; nor should he convey or authorize others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence him.
*
Public confidence in the judiciary is eroded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges. A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. He must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. He must therefore accept restrictions on his conduct that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen and should do so freely and willingly.
*
The judicial duties of a judge take precedence over all his other activities. His judicial duties include all the duties of his office prescribed by law. In the performance of these duties, the following standards apply:
*
A judge should be faithful to the law and maintain professional competence in it. He should be unswayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism.
Fla.Bar Code Jud.Conduct, canons 1-3.
When a judge violates the penal statute of bribery, great harm is visited upon the entire judicial system. A judge should contemplate and expect that, because of the impact on the foundation of our system of justice, he should be treated more harshly than a lesser public servant. Society should demand this to be so. The commentary to canon 2 of the code recognizes this, as set out above, by providing that a judge "must accept restrictions on his conduct . and should do so freely and willingly."
Merckle accepted several thousand dollars in exchange for imposing a nonstate prison sentence on the nephew of the donor of the funds. Merckle's position as chief judge of the circuit placed him in a position to act in the temporary absence of the judge to whom the case was assigned. This is an aggravating factor as noted by the trial judge and is an added reason to find that Merckle should be treated more severely than other public servants who accept bribes. A chief judge represents the judiciary in the circuit; Merckle abused his office of chief judge as well as his office of judge.
When a judge violates his oath of office and compromises his position of trust, his act is far more egregious than that of any other public servant. Merckle's conduct did, as described by the trial judge, have an extraordinary and unusual impact on society over and above a bribery conviction of a lesser official. There are ingredients in his crime, because of his office and because of the way he manipulated his office, which set it apart from other bribery convictions. His conduct encompassed factors not considered or contemplated in the average guidelines sentence and is thus subject to a departure sentence. The first two reasons expressed by the trial judge for departure are clear and convincing.
"The American people want desperately to respect their judges. Moreover, the public is entitled to have that demanding desire satisfied by judges who constantly recognize that they must earn, everyday, the public respect that constitutes not only a quid-pro-quo for their continuing success in the judicial office, but a quid-pro-quo for the continued existence of the judiciary as the keeper of the flame of justice in a free society." Chief Justice Howard T. Murphy, Circuit Court of Appeals, address to the Conference of Chief Justices, Aug. 5, 1986. A judge's ability to render justice, protect the people's liberties against abuse by other branches of government, and, most importantly, cement the public's adherence to the rule of law all depend on the very lifeblood of the judiciary — respect. Judge Merckle, for private and personal gain, eroded that respect. For this, he should pay a substantial price and one greater than that generally reserved for other public servants.
We hold that the reasons given by the trial judge (status as circuit judge, breach of the public trust) constitute valid reasons for departing from the recommended guidelines sentence. Accordingly, we answer the certified question in the affirmative and approve the district court's decision.
It is so ordered.
MCDONALD, C.J., and OVERTON, EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., and LARRY G. SMITH, Associate Justice, concur.
KOGAN, J., dissents with an opinion, in which BARKETT, J., concurs.
. The jury convicted Merckle of four offenses: bribery, § 838.015(1), Fla.Stat. (1981); receiving unlawful compensation, § 838.016(2), Fla.Stat. (1981); extortion by a state officer, § 839.11, Fla.Stat. (1981); and misbehavior in office, § 775.01, Fla.Stat. (1981).
. The trial judge set out the reasons for departure in narrative form. We have used the district court's version of those reasons for clarity. Merckle v. State, 512 So.2d 948, 950 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).
. Merckle also raises an issue, concerning the sufficiency of the circumstantial evidence used to convict him, which is outside the scope of the certified question. The district court adequately addressed this issue, and we refuse to consider it further.