Opinion ID: 1818000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Discipline Imposed

Text: Even assuming that Judge Diaz's conduct violated a specific canon, the recommended discipline  a $15,000 fine, a two-week suspension, a public apology, and a public reprimand  is much too harsh. Unless there are facts of which we are unaware, the facts found by the Commission and presented for our review are incongruent with its recommendation on discipline. As I previously stated, the parties' stipulation notwithstanding, this Court may accept, reject, or modify the JQC's recommendations. See Fla. Jud. Qual. Comm'n R. 6(j). I would eliminate all but a reprimand issued by opinion. Although the JQC suggests that its recommended discipline is less stringent than the matter warranted, I find the opposite is true. A comparison with other cases illustrates the disparity between the conduct and the recommended discipline. For example, in an interview with a newspaper reporter regarding a case pending before him, a judge made several biased comments about the defendant and the merits of its litigation strategy. In re Andrews, 875 So.2d 441, 441 (Fla.2004). We agreed with the JQC that the conduct violated Canons 1, 2, and 3. We imposed the recommended discipline  a public reprimand. Similarly, in In re Angel, 867 So.2d at 379, the judge stipulated to seven violations of Canon 7 and a statute, which were based on his conduct during his 2002 election campaign. Noting that the case did not involve implications that the judge would make partisan decisions on the bench, we agreed that no fine was needed and again approved the JQC's recommendation of a public reprimand. Id. at 383. In In re Schapiro, 845 So.2d 170 (Fla.2003), the judge stipulated to ten violations based on his unseemly, rude, arrogant, and intemperate behavior towards attorneys and litigants in his court over a period of years. We found the judge's conduct clearly undermined the public's confidence in and respect for both the integrity of the judicial system and Judge Schapiro as a judge and concluded these violations were extreme in their seriousness, in their number, and in the length of time over which they occurred. 845 So.2d at 173-74. Yet, in view of the judge's participation in behavioral therapy, we held that his appearance in our Court for a public reprimand and letters of apology were sufficient discipline. Finally, in In re Holloway, 832 So.2d 716 (Fla.2002), we found several violations, including making misleading statements in a sworn deposition and angrily confronting and crudely upbraiding another judge in a hearing room about his handling of an ongoing case, in which the offending judge had an emotional involvement and had appeared as a witness. Noting the judge's acceptance of responsibility for her misconduct and evidence that she was otherwise an able judge, we imposed a public reprimand and a thirty-day suspension without pay. The conduct in each of these cases was much more egregious than the conduct at issue here. In this case, the JQC noted that Judge Diaz took responsibility for his actions and that he had no prior disciplinary history. Yet it recommended a fourteen-day suspension without pay, a $15,000 fine, a public reprimand by this Court, and a public apology to Judge Seidman and the Hispanic Bar Association of Broward County in a form suitable to the Commission. I shudder to think what the JQC would have recommended had Judge Diaz not accepted responsibility. The dissonance between the conduct and recommended discipline in this case as compared with these other cases is striking. The incident here was isolated. It did not implicate either Judge Diaz's or Judge Seidman's impartial performance of judicial duties. Judge Diaz had no previous disciplinary incidents, admitted the misconduct, was remorseful, and promised it would not happen again. The discipline should not exceed what we imposed on Judges Andrews, Angel, and Schapiro. Therefore, even assuming Judge Diaz violated a canon of the Code of Judicial Conduct (which the JQC could not identify), I would modify the recommended discipline by eliminating all but a reprimand issued by opinion. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent. PARIENTE, C.J., concurs.