Opinion ID: 1832295
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Alleged Breaches of Confidentiality

Text: One final matter that merits mention involves two motions filed by Judge Frank alleging a violation of article V, section 12(a)(4) of the Florida Constitution and Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission Rule (FJQCR) 23, both of which require that all matters in a JQC proceeding remain confidential until the notice of formal proceedings is filed with the clerk of this Court. The first motion concerned an alleged breach by Craig Weber, a witness who eventually testified before the Hearing Panel. The second motion alleged a breach of confidentiality by one or more members of the Investigative Panel. At a joint session on October 23, 1998, the full JQC considered Judge Frank's motions and ruled that, taking the allegations as true, Judge Frank was not prejudiced in defending against the charges brought against him. See In re Graziano, 696 So.2d 744, 752 (Fla.1997) (The due-process concern involved with respect to the confidentiality requirement is whether the reported information prejudiced respondent's rights to a fair hearing.). Our review of the record does not reveal any facts that would support a finding of prejudice. Thus, we accept the full JQC's determination on this matter. We conclude that the record is, at best, skeletal on this issue. The JQC did not make a determination that confidentiality had been breached. We do not have sufficient information to independently reach a conclusion as to whether there was an actual breach of confidentiality in this case; nor can we determine the depth of any discussion or investigation undertaken of this issue by the JQC at its joint session on October 23, 1998. We again express our concern that the requirements of confidentiality be observed in proceedings before the Commission. We reiterate our statement in this respect in In re Graziano: We agree with respondent that the JQC must provide reasonable safeguards against any breaches of the confidentiality requirements by itself, its staff, and its counsel. In this case, the source of the disclosed information is unknown. We find no basis to conclude that there was a breach of the JQC's obligation of confidentiality in respect to the JQC, its staff, or its counsel being the source of the information in the newspaper articles. Moreover, as we earlier noted, the confidentiality requirements promote the effectiveness of the judicial disciplinary process and protect judicial officers from unsubstantiated charges. 696 So.2d at 752 (emphasis added). We request that the Commission be ever mindful of the implementation of those rules relating to confidentiality which give to all involved in the Commission's proceedings confidence that confidentiality will be observed.