Case Name: INQUIRY CONCERNING a Judge, No. 93-155, re Edward MILLER
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1994-10-13
Citations: 644 So. 2d 75
Docket Number: No. 82887
Parties: INQUIRY CONCERNING a Judge, No. 93-155, re Edward MILLER.
Judges: GRIMES, C.J., and SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING and WELLS, JJ., and McDONALD, Senior Justice, concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 644
Pages: 75–81

Head Matter:
INQUIRY CONCERNING a Judge, No. 93-155, re Edward MILLER.
No. 82887.
Supreme Court of Florida.
Oct. 13, 1994.
Frank N. Kaney, Vice-Chairman and Ford L. Thompson, Gen. Counsel, Tallahassee, and David W. Spicer and Paul M. Adams, Sp. Counsel of Bobo, Spicer, Ciotoli, Fulford, Bocehino, DeBevoise & Le Clainehe, West Palm Beach, for petitioner.
Don Beverly and James Tittle of Beverly & Tittle, P.A., West Palm Beach, for respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We have for review the Judicial Qualifications Commission's finding that Judge Edward Miller demonstrates a present unfitness to hold office and its recommendation that he be removed from office. We have jurisdiction based on article V, section 12 of the Florida Constitution. We decline to remove Miller from the office of county judge because we find that a public reprimand is the appropriate sanction.
Miller has been a county judge in Okeechobee County since 1988. In 1993 the JQC formally charged Miller with four charges: three involving letters to the local newspaper and one involving a child custody case over which he presided. The JQC charged Miller with violating four canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct: Canon 1 (a judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary); Canon 2 (a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities); Canon 3 (a judge should perform the duties of office impartially and diligently); and Canon 4 (a judge may engage in activities, including writing, to improve the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice).
The JQC made these findings of fact:
(1) Miller wrote a letter published in the Okeechobee News on March 31,1993, about a sexual battery case over which he presided. The case involved a father's sexual battery on his daughter and lewd and lascivious acts in the child's presence. Miller sentenced the defendant to forty-five years in prison, which was more than the twelve-year guidelines sentence. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for resentenc-ing. Miller sentenced the defendant to twelve years in prison, then wrote a letter to the newspaper's editor expressing his displeasure. The letter included these statements:
And so the reasons for my shame and embarrassment. Yesterday, March 25, 1993, I resentenced this man to a total of 12 years in prison, when I felt, in truth and fact, that he should more properly be castrated and hung by the neck.... I obeyed the law as I am bound to do, but I left the Constitution and the Bill of Rights lying in tatters on the floor of my court room. I am not ashamed to say that I wept when I sentenced this man.
Edward A. Miller, Judge Forced To Reduce Sentence, Okeechobee News, Mar. 31, 1993 (emphasis added). Miller testified that, in retrospect, he might have gone too far in writing that paragraph. He said, however, that he thought his letter enhanced the reputation of the judiciary and did not show disrespect. He did not think the letter invited any motions for recusal in subsequent criminal cases involving rape.
(2) Miller wrote a letter published in the Okeechobee News on September 14, 1993, in which he said the criminal justice system no longer worked. He wrote:
The plain truth of the matter is that rather than alter a system that has now proven. without a doubt to be incapable of dealing with crime, our society has altered itself and ignored the problem by sticking our heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich until he wound up in the belly of the lion.
Edward A. Miller, All Americans Are Victimized by Crime, Okeechobee News, Sept. 14, 1993.
(3) Miller wrote a third letter published in the Okeechobee News on October 8, 1993, that said, "[n]o where in the Constitution does it say that we have to run our criminal justice system in such a crack-brained fashion." Edward A. Miller, Court System Isn't Fair to Victims of Crime, Okeechobee News, Oct. 8, 1993. Miller also criticized the sentencing guidelines and "clean, comfortable, air conditioned jail[s]." Id.
(4) Miller held a hearing in a child custody matter in March 1989 when he did not have jurisdiction. He gave the mother notice of the hearing only after the hearing began and forced her to act as her own attorney (even though the mother did not have any idea why she was in court). Miller modified the custody given to the mother and placed the child with her paternal grandparents. At the time, Miller had jurisdiction to hear temporary, but not permanent, child support and child custody cases. The basis asserted at the hearing for entering the change was an emergency because the mother's boyfriend was violent and the child was in danger. There was uncontroverted evidence that the boyfriend had never been violent with the child. A month after the hearing, Miller entered an amended order entitled "Amended Order Granting Temporary Relief." Miller testified that he could have handled the case "a whole lot better," but that he did not think he had done anything wrong.
The JQC made these recommendations:
(1) Miller did not violate any canons for writing the September 14, 1993, letter to the editor about the shortcomings of the criminal justice system.
(2) Miller violated the canons by writing the March. 31, 1993, and October 8, 1993, letters to the editor. The JQC found that "[tjhese two letters . reasonably called into question the impartiality of Judge Miller to try criminal cases." If the letters had been the only charges, the JQC would have recommended a public reprimand.
(3) Miller violated Canons 1, 2, and 3 in the child custody case. The JQC found clear and convincing evidence that the mother was not given adequate notice or an opportunity to be heard:
She was forced to a hearing in a near hysterical state and denied the opportunity to obtain a lawyer. She was likewise given no notice or opportunity to be heard on the amended order.
In short, the JQC found that Miller denied the mother her procedural due process rights in a case in which he did not even have jurisdiction. Because of Miller's actions, the mother did not get her daughter back for more than one year. By his conduct in this case, the JQC found that Miller demonstrated a present unfitness to hold office and recommended his removal.
The object of JQC disciplinary proceedings "is not to inflict punishment, but to determine whether one who exercises judicial power is unfit to hold a judgeship." In re Kelly, 238 So.2d 565, 569 (Fla.1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 962, 91 S.Ct. 970, 28 L.Ed.2d 246 (1971). The evidence against a judge must be clear and convincing. In re LaMotte, 341 So.2d 513, 516 (Fla.1977). The JQC's findings and recommendations have persuasive force and should be given great weight. This Court, however, has the ultimate power and responsibility to decide whether the evidence proves that a judge's conduct is unbecoming of a member of the judiciary. In re Graham, 620 So.2d 1273, 1275 (Fla.1993), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 114 S.Ct. 1186, 127 L.Ed.2d 537 (1994).
Initially, we agree with the JQC that Miller's March 31, 1993, and October 8,1993, letters to the local newspaper warrant a public reprimand. While Canon 4A allows a judge to write about "activities concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice," a judge still must uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary (Canon 1), avoid impropriety or its- appearance (Canon 2), and perform the duties of office impartially and diligently (Canon 3). This Court has cautioned judges "against indiscriminately voicing their objection to the law lest they be misunderstood by the public as being unwilling to enforce the law as written, thereby undermining public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." In re Gridley, 417 So.2d 950, 954 (Fla.1982). Although Miller indicated in his writings that he would uphold the law, it is nonetheless apparent that some of his comments could be interpreted as making him less than impartial.
Turning to the issue of the March 1989 hearing, we find that Miller's misconduct was serious, but does not warrant his removal from office. Instead, a public reprimand is appropriate. Our imposition of this sanction in no way undermines the seriousness of Miller's actions.
Among the JQC's reasons noted for its recommendation for removal was that Miller has repeatedly held ex parte communications since becoming a judge. No charges were brought for this conduct. This finding came about after Miller's campaign treasurer testified that Miller had presided over a case in which her son had been charged with DUI. In response to a JQC commissioner's question, Miller said he often has what could be characterized as ex parte communications. This obviously violates the canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, and we take this opportunity to stress that such communications are not appropriate:
The Code of Judicial Conduct in Canon 3(A)(4) states that "[a] judge should accord to every person who is legally interested in a proceeding, or his lawyer, full right to be heard according to law, and, except as authorized by law, neither initiate nor consider ex parte or other communications concerning a pending or impending proceeding." This canon implements a fundamental requirement for all judicial proceedings under our form of government. Except under limited circumstances, no party should be allowed the advantage of presenting matters to or having matters decided by the judge without notice to all other interested parties. This canon was written with the clear intent of excluding all ex parte communications except when they are expressly authorized by statutes or rules.
In re Clayton, 504 So.2d 394, 395 (Fla.1987); see also Rose v. State, 601 So.2d 1181, 1184 (Fla.1992) (Harding, J., concurring) (emphasizing that ex parte communications "can often damage the perception of fairness and should be avoided where at all possible").
In small counties, it has been a time-honored tradition for residents to look to a county judge for advice and counsel in many areas, including legal matters. The judicial canon that makes ex parte communications improper does not distinguish between sparsely populated and metropolitan areas. As our state and its jurisprudence have progressed, the practice of turning to a county judge for legal advice is no longer permitted. Although Miller was not formally charged with engaging in ex parte communications, this opinion should stand as a statement that such conduct will not be tolerated.
Accordingly, we publicly reprimand Miller for writing the March 31, 1993, and October 8, 1993, letters and for his handling of the child custody case.
It is so ordered.
GRIMES, C.J., and SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING and WELLS, JJ., and McDONALD, Senior Justice, concur.
OVERTON, J., dissents with an opinion.
. This case generated strong sentiments among Okeechobee residents, many of whom wrote to Justices of this Court in support of or opposition to Miller. We note that this Court makes its decision in this case based on law and fact — and not based on the popularity of the judge. A letter-writing campaign is offensive to the orderly process of the Court because it may appear that Justices consider a judge's popularity in reaching a decision. The appropriate vehicle for those who are not parties to address communications to this Court is to request and receive permission to proceed as an amicus curiae.