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The Judiciary
On sensitive ground
Judges in Miami undergo sensitivity training
By Jessica M. Walker
April 6, 2005
When a Miami-Dade Circuit judge commented in open court that deporting more Cubans “could empty our jails,” she enraged Cuban-American lawyers.
Judge Jeri Beth Cohen profusely apologized later for the remark, made during a July 2002 hearing in juvenile court.
While the Cuban-American Bar Association formally forgave Judge Cohen, the influential group called on Chief Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Joseph P. Farina Jr. to organize diversity and sensitivity training for the county’s judges.
Last week, a group of about 20 Miami-Dade judges attended a voluntary two-day sensitivity training session conducted by Donna Ginn, a sensitivity trainer from Miami-based Ginn Scroggins & Associates. There also was a two-day session in February attended by about 10 judges, and a pilot session late last year. There will be two additional sessions, which Farina expects to be attended by 25 judges each.
But some members of the Cuban-American legal community were disappointed by delays in setting up the training and how the training was initially carried out. According to some lawyers familiar with the training, it was shallow, not specific to the unique problems faced in local courts and was better suited for a corporate atmosphere rather than a courthouse.
The program included the showing of a documentary film, “Cafe con Leche 2: A Cuban-American Mosaic,” detailing varied experiences of Cuban-Americans. The sessions took place behind closed doors. A Daily Business Review request to attend one of the sessions was denied by Farina, who said the sessions were confidential.
A pilot session last year prompted CABA to express its displeasure in a Feb. 22 letter to Farina.
“We were disappointed that, after two years, the program was not planned or implemented as effectively as it could or should have been,” CABA president Antonio Castro wrote. “Our representative to the program, as well as several judges, came away with the impression that the first session provided little more than lip service to the goals we discussed and lacked the fundamentals of an informative, educational and all-encompassing program designed to assist judges in addressing their biases and working toward effectively resolving them.”
Castro attended the sessions last week and in February and also was a presenter at the first session. In an interview this week, Castro was less critical of the programs. “It continues to be a meaningful symposium,” Castro said. “This has actually gotten very favorable response from some of our members.”
Farina said in and interview that the delays were due to the complexity of setting up the programs. He said planning was further complicated because it was a group effort and judges have complicated schedules.
“Since [diversity training in a small-group setting] had never been done before, we needed time,” Farina said. “But it was time well spent.”
Farina said part of the time was spent setting up a workgroup made up of attorneys from various voluntary bar associations. Then, according to Farina, more time elapsed as the workgroup executed a search for the best facilitator.
But a Cuban-American lawyer who asked not to be named said Farina unnecessarily delayed the training.
After being frustrated by the delays, members of CABA were upset by the content of the program.
In his letter to Farina, Castro noted that the planning of the pilot session seemed last-minute.
“We learned that certain panelists were not contacted until just weeks prior to the program,” Castro wrote. “The perceived lack of planning resulted in disappointment and, to some extent, resentment.”
A videotape used in the pilot training session dealt with sensitivity toward the Hispanic culture, but focused on Mexicans, adding to the some CABA members infuriation.
Yet another complaint voiced by CABA members was that the training was voluntary. Some feared that those judges needing it the most would blow off the sessions.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court spokeswoman Jill Beach said about 100 judges have either attended or signed up to attend out of 115 on the bench. She said she didn’t know the names of the 15 judges who had not signed up.
In an interview, Castro said he recognized that the program is still developing. “There are limitations on what [Farina] can require,” Castro said. “We are hopeful that all the judges can participate. Only good can come from taking time thinking of the issue of diversity.”
Leaders of bar groups for women and black lawyers said they were supportive of the sensitivity training effort but have been less involved than CABA.
“I think it never hurts for people to be reminded to be fair and be just,” said Rosana Hernandez, president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. “But I don’t know if it’s a necessity, because I haven’t had any experiences in court where I felt that way.”
Walter Harvey, president of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association, an organization for black lawyers in Miami-Dade, said Ginn’s request for feedback had been deemed a top priority at the association’s last executive session. But he acknowledged that his organization had not been as active in initiating the training as CABA.
“I know that CABA has been out on the forefront on this,” said Harvey, a partner at Steel Hector & Davis. “They’ve been the key facilitators, but we want to be a part as well, so we’re working with Tony [Castro] to try to get a voice in there.”
Apology accepted
The sensitivity training program was precipitated by Judge Cohen’s controversial remark at the July 2002 hearing. She made the comments during a hearing involving a Cuban-American man, Reinaldo Guerra, and his 17-year-old son, who was before the court on felony drug charges.
At the hearing, Guerra requested that his son, who apparently had had repeated run-ins with the law, be sent back to Cuba. “As his father, I would like them to deport him back to Cuba because I do not want him in my home,” Guerra told Judge Cohen. “I brought him, and I want to send him back.”
According to a hearing transcript, Cohen responded: “I do not think that they deport people back to Cuba. That is our big problem. If we deport people back to Cuba, we could empty our jails. We would have it made and be happy, but we cannot.”
Cohen, at the time a 10-year veteran of the bench with strong bar ratings, sent a letter to CABA apologizing for the remarks. Then, in August 2002, the CABA board of directors met with the judge at her request to discuss her remarks. Cohen apologized again.
After the meeting, the board issued a statement saying that “upon careful deliberation and after speaking with Chief Judge Farina and later meeting with Judge Cohen, the board of directors accepts Judge Cohen’s apology.” The board announced that it would not file a complaint against her with the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.
The CABA board found no evidence that Cohen’s remarks were part of a pattern of anti-Hispanic conduct on her part.
Respect for litigants
After that, CABA leaders began meeting with Chief Judge Farina, pressing for training for the county’s judges. Farina agreed to training, but it took more than two years for the sensitivity training to come to fruition.
Besides talking with CABA members, Ginn has solicited ideas for the program from other minority bar associations, including the Ferguson bar group.
Both Castro and Harvey said the training was not just about judges’ treatment of lawyers, but also about their treatment of litigants and criminal defendants.
Castro said he wants judges taught to be respectful toward litigants and attorneys no matter how they speak. “If a litigant or a lawyer speaks with an accent, [they shouldn’t] draw conclusions based upon that,” he said.
Harvey hopes that the push for sensitivity continues and expands throughout Florida. “This just didn’t happen,” Harvey said. “Clearly, it was put together as a result of a problem that was perceived by some lawyers and some judges. I hope that this is part of something that could happen throughout the entire state.”
Castro said he hopes it will make a difference in judges’ conduct. “I understand that there are limitations on what even a two-day symposium can have on the hearts and minds of individuals,” he said. “But we hope that this will affect the judges’ conduct in acting with greater sensitivity.”
Jessica M. Walker can be reached at jwalker@floridabiz.com or at (305) 347-6649.
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