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Panel Seeks To Remove Judge For Demeaning Other Judges North Country
Gazette A St. Lucie County Court judge is learning first hand not to "rock the boat" and after filing complaints on his fellow judges, alleging that they couldn't be impartial and were allegedly acting improperly, he's had the tables turned on him. . . . Judge Cliff Barnes of the 19th Judicial Circuit is under investigation by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission for allegedly demeaning the integrity and independence of the judiciary by complaining about the propriety of the conduct of the St. Lucie County sheriff, state attorney and public defender and by allegedly writing about the issue as a guest columnist in a local newspaper. . . . Barnes was served notice that the commission has found that probable cause exists to file formal charges against him on Oct. 26. Most of the charges are related to a complaint that Barnes filed with the Fourth District Court of Appeals in July alleging that his fellow judges, the state attorney and the public defender weren't complying with the law at first appearance hearings which are required within 24 hours of a subject's arrest. . . . Barnes has filed his response and has moved to dismiss some of the charges. . . . He specifically called for County Judge Thomas Walsh to recuse himself from criminal hearings, saying that Walsh had a prohibited conflict of interest because he is married to public defender Diamond Litty. . . . The JQC charges that Barnes violated judicial canons by filed a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking the removal of Walsh, saying instead that Barnes' actions created an appearance of impropriety concerning his ability to act in an impartial manner as a judge in criminal proceedings. . . . The judicial disciplinary agency says that by charging specific improprieties of another judge which the JQC is without appropriate foundation, that Barnes has eroded the public confidence in the judicial system. The JQC also claims that by advocating a position that benefits third parties (the public) Barnes has violated the prohibition against a sitting judge practicing law. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/112106DemeaningJudges.html For the papers filed in the
Judge Barnes case go to: State Investigates Judge Cliff Barnes in Ethics Case By Derek Simmonsen A state agency has launched an investigation into whether County Judge Cliff Barnes violated judicial ethics by making public complaints this summer against the State Attorney, Public Defender and other judges. . . . The investigative arm of the Judicial Qualifications Commission found probable cause to file charges against him, alleging he broke judicial rules, according to the complaint, which was filed late Thursday. The commission is an independent agency that investigates accusations of misconduct against judges and is separate from the state court system. . . . Many of the accusations against Barnes stem from a complaint he filed with an appeals court in July claiming his fellow judges, the state attorney and the public defender were not following the law at first-appearance hearings, which are required within 24 hours of a person's arrest. Barnes specifically called for County Judge Tom Walsh to recuse himself from the criminal hearings, saying his marriage to Public Defender Diamond Litty was a conflict of interest. . . . Barnes is accused of demeaning the "integrity and independence" of the judiciary by publicly airing his complaints, including writing a guest column for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers called: "Criminal justice partners must get on same page." That column allegedly "provides misleading information to the public concerning the judicial system," according to the notice of formal charges filed against him. . . . "This cumulative misconduct constitutes a pattern and practice unbecoming a judicial officer and lacking the dignity appropriate to judicial office, with the effect of bringing the judiciary into disrepute," the complaint states. ***** Anyone can file a complaint with the commission and the notice of charges does not state who formally made the accusations against Barnes. He has 20 days to file an answer to the charges and will continue to work as a judge. St. Lucie Judge Charged with Violating Judicial Code By Sarah Prohaska -St. Lucie County Judge Cliff Barnes could face disciplinary action — including the possibility of being removed from office — after a state judicial commission found probable cause to launch an inquiry into allegations he "demeaned the integrity and independence of the judiciary." . . . The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, the panel that investigates alleged misconduct by state judges, filed formal charges Thursday against Barnes, alleging he violated both the code of judicial conduct and Florida statutes. Barnes in July filed a petition asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to order several of his fellow judges, along with county sheriff, the Treasure Coast's public defender and state attorney, to change the way they conduct criminal defendants' first court appearances, alleging that the procedure they follow is illegal. . . . The commission's charges allege Barnes violated the judges' code by making these complaints public. Barnes also broke the rules by writing an article as a guest columnist in a local newspaper expressing his views on first appearances and jail crowding, which the charges allege "provides misleading information to the public concerning the judicial system. Judicial
Leaders Say St. Lucie By Sarah Prohaska A legal complaint that St. Lucie County Judge Cliff Barnes filed against eight fellow judges and other top judicial officials should be dismissed because Barnes' own rights have not been affected by the court procedures he claims are illegal, his opponents argued in papers filed this week. . . . Attorneys for the judges along with the St. Lucie County sheriff and the Treasure Coast's public defender and state attorney all contend Barnes has no legal standing to ask the 4th District Court of Appeal to force them to change the way they handle first-appearance hearings. . . . Further, a lawyer for the judges says he cannot find a legal precedent that "would indicate a sitting judge has standing to sue another sitting judge...over the latter's alleged violations of the Rules of Criminal Procedures." . . . "(Barnes) is suing in his capacity as a St. Lucie County Judge and has no standing to compel other judges in his circuit to abide by his interpretation of the Rules of Criminal Procedure," Tallahassee attorney Gregory Smith wrote in papers he filed Wednesday. Judge
Says Procedure Unfair The Fort Pierce (Florida)
Tribune
Barnes filed a petition Monday with the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, asking the judges to order Public Defender Diamond Litty, State Attorney Bruce Colton, Sheriff Ken Mascara and others to follow the state's rules of criminal procedure. He also calls for fellow County Judge Tom Walsh to recuse himself from first appearance hearings because his marriage to Litty is a clear conflict of interest. "It is unconscionable that these officers are incarcerating persons for not obeying laws through a procedure that does not itself follow the law," Barnes wrote. Everyone who is arrested has the right to see a judge within 24 hours at a first-appearance hearing, but the flaws in the system mean the deck is stacked against those with less money. It poses a burden to taxpayers who must pay to keep them in jail, Barnes wrote. Among the problems, he claims the sheriff's office doesn't alert newly arrested people to their rights to an attorney or allow them to quickly contact the public defender's office. At first appearances, judges rarely ask about circumstances that could justify releasing a person on their own recognizance pending trial, the preferred situation for nonviolent offenders, he wrote. Assistant public defenders rarely push for a reasonable bond and judges don't give them time to confer with their clients once they are appointed. Judges typically rubber-stamp bonds that are already set at booking or by another judge who signed a warrant, allowing no input from defense attorneys or defendants. "A defendant with the assets can bond out on a violent felony with no supervision pending trial, while an indigent defendant may have strict supervision on the most trivial of charges," Barnes wrote. Barnes wants the appeals court to order Chief Circuit Judge William Roby to lay out instructions for judges on how first appearances should be handled. He also wants Colton and Litty to make sure attorneys are present at all hearings, including those on the weekend. He claimed he advised Roby of his concerns and Roby told him he was not being "collegial" in following the procedures used by the other judges. Roby declined Barnes' suggestion to have a meeting of first-appearance judges and took Barnes off first-appearance duty last July. http://pdstuff.blogspot.com/2006/07/judge-says-procedure-unfair-to.html
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A Feast
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