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September 2, 2010 |
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| May 11, 2007 |
By: Jordana Mishory |
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small band of criminal defense lawyers has shaken up the Broward County legal community with a Web log that reports what the bloggers consider abuse and misconduct by judges.
Their controversial blog (JAABlog.jaablaw.com) takes daily blasts at Broward judges and urges lawyers to run for election against sitting judges. Designed as the communication arm of the new criminal defense group Justice Advocacy Association of Broward, the site was started last year to provide information about case law.
The site, which averages 31,000 hits a week, has become a daily must-read for many in the legal community at a time when Broward judges are involved in a series of verbal gaffes and face allegations of misconduct.
The blog gained visibility last month when it was the first to report that Circuit Judge Charles Greene, chief administrative judge of the criminal division, used the term “NHI” — meaning no humans involved — to describe the minority victims and witnesses in a recent murder trial. That remark led to a firestorm of criticism. In the wake of the controversy, Greene stepped down as administrative judge and at his request was re-assigned to the civil division.
Fort Lauderdale attorney William Gelin, one of the blog’s founders and a frequent writer, said the goal of the blog is to inform the public and hold court officials accountable. “We are shedding light on previously very dark places,” he said, adding that so far judges have not treated him or his clients differently as a result of his blogging.
The Web site has angered many Broward judges and lawyers. Last week at a news conference, Broward Chief Judge Dale Ross blamed the blog’s organizers for trying to “undermine” the judiciary. He said in an interview he would prefer that lawyers with concerns come to him directly.
“I like folks who are serious people, who come up to me face-to-face and say, ‘Hey Dale, I have a problem I’d like to talk to you about,’ ” he said. While Ross said he doesn’t read the blog, he complained that he hadn’t “seen one thing yet that was factually correct.”
The incoming president of the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association, Miramar attorney Jose Izquierdo, also criticized the organizers of the blog, saying they are using it “as a forum to attack and not fix the problem.”
Russell Williams, vice president of Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, echoed that criticism of the blog. “All they do is complain, and the complaints become a cancer that grows from the inside and spreads throughout the courthouse,” he said.
Leading voice of discontent
Broward Circuit Court has not been accustomed to such noisy criticism. Since 1991, the court has been led by Ross, who recently was unanimously re-elected chief judge by his fellow judges.
Few incumbent judges have faced election opponents because Broward lawyers fear alienating them. There’s no regular rotation system, so most judges remain in their assigned divisions for long periods.
In addition, under former Gov. Jeb Bush and his hand-picked Judicial Nominating Commission, there were few appointments of black or Hispanic judges despite the county’s large and growing minority population.
Bush tended to appoint former prosecutors to the bench, and some of these Bush appointees, notably Circuit Judge Cheryl Aleman, have angered the defense bar with what is perceived to be their pro-prosecution bias.
All these factors, plus the recent series of embarrassing judicial comments and conduct, have led to growing frustration with the court and with Ross’ leadership. The new blog has been a leading voice in expressing that discontent.
Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, a frequent critic of Broward judges who is not connected with JAABlog, lauded the Web site as one of the most important factors driving change in the court. “In Broward, judges have become way too accustomed to not being challenged in either the courtroom or at the polls,” he said.
Critics, however, say the bloggers simply want to bring down Chief Judge Ross and other judges.
“I don’t have an agenda against any judge, the judiciary or anything,” Izquierdo said. “The situation regarding [sensitivity toward diversity] is not a springboard for attacking judges that you have a problem with.”
Gelin acknowledged personal feelings of animosity toward Chief Judge Ross and his leadership. But he said the Web site was designed as a forum for criminal defense lawyers to discuss issues and gather information.
In addition to critiques of judges, the blog posts arrests sheets, links to news articles about the courthouse, announcements of upcoming meetings and events in the community, summaries of appellate court rulings and vignettes of courthouse happenings.
Gelin said Ross and his colleagues on the bench are responsible for the current problems facing the court — not his blog. “The judiciary is doing this all by themselves,” he said. Ross’ “attempt to scapegoat us is a little bit ingenuous.”
Rich pickings
The Broward blog began as an offshoot of the Justice Advocacy Association of Broward, a criminal defense bar group created last summer. Initially, the site posted appellate decisions, court meetings, newspaper articles and an occasional rant.
But JAABlog soon eclipsed the sponsoring organization by reporting on a steady stream of controversial statements and actions by the judges. And the bloggers have had rich pickings.
In February, the state Judicial Qualifications Commission filed charges against Judge Aleman, alleging that she “engaged in a pattern of arrogant, discourteous and impatient conduct.”
That same month, during a bail hearing, Judge Ross said a black defendant charged with violating a noise ordinance was “playing that atrocious rap music on a boom box.”
Also in February, Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin became the object of national ridicule for his handling of the Anna Nicole Smith body-custody case. Then Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda was charged with smoking pot in a Hollywood park and took a leave of absence.
Last year there were several other incidents of Broward judges making comments that were widely considered insensitive to minorities and poor people.
The nearly 320 members of the Justice Advocacy Association of Broward all have author keys to compose Web posts. Viewers can weigh in with comments, either signed or anonymous, without being moderated. A handful of JAAB members write and sign most of the posts.
Gelin is one of the main bloggers. “If you truly believe something, you ought to sign your name to it,” he said.
Under his lead, the blog has polled readers on who they think should run against Ross for the position of chief judge. No one ran against Ross in the most recent election in February.
This week, Gelin urged readers to file to run against sitting judges.
Gelin’s actions impressed a Miami-Dade courthouse blogger who has operated the popular Justice Building Blog for the past year and a half under the pseudonym “Rumpole.”
“I was surprised the lawyer who started the [Broward] blog did so openly,” Rumpole, who says he’s a Miami-Dade criminal defense lawyer, said in an e-mail to the Daily Business Review. “He should be applauded for his bravery. I, of course, am not so brave.”
At least one other lawyer who wrote a post on JAABlog has suffered consequences. Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney Sean Conway faces a Florida Bar complaint for a blog post about Judge Aleman that was attributed to him. The October 2006 entry that bears Conway’s name referred to Aleman as “seemingly mentally ill” and accused her of illegally forcing defendants to waive their rights to a speedy trial.
Bar rules prohibit attorneys from publicly criticizing judges. Conway has not admitted writing the post.
Aleman currently is fighting JQC charges of misconduct, including allegations of abusive treatment toward criminal defendants and defense attorneys.
The March Bar complaint against Conway, which was filed five months after the Aleman post, asked Conway to comment on the blog entry. Both Conway and his attorney have filed responses.
Despite the Bar complaint, Conway recently forwarded a JQC complaint he filed against Aleman to JAABlog, and it was posted. Conway “can post all he wants,” said his attorney, Fred Haddad of Fort Lauderdale. “What are we in Russia?”
Gelin also had a Bar complaint filed against him last September. The Bar closed it a few days later, finding no probable cause. The nature of the complaint was not made public.
Gelin said the complaint was made by someone who did not like a quote attributed to him in an article published by the Miami Herald. Gelin said he’s proud that he’s never had a dispute with a client that led to a Bar complaint.
The controversy over JAABlog has led to its sponsoring organization being excluded from Broward’s growing diversity movement.
JAAB had worked with Broward’s minority bar coalition to send a letter to Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis following Chief Judge Ross’ courtroom comments to minority defendants in March. Although JAAB attended the Miami meeting with Lewis, its members were excluded from subsequent meetings with Ross regarding diversity issues.
Incoming Hispanic Bar President Izquierdo said he “regrets the fact” that his organization co-authored a letter with JAAB. Izquierdo noted that the coalition of voluntary minority bar groups started working to promote diversity in the Broward courts and legal profession long before the blog was created.
As long as the blog is used to attack the judiciary, Izquierdo said he will not work with JAAB.
He said the organization’s method of posting public attacks against judges instead of setting up meetings to discuss problems with them is not effective.
In response, JAAB president Craig S. Esquenazi of Fort Lauderdale said, “If we can help them with their goal of effecting change, that’s great. If he doesn’t want our help, that’s OK, too.”
Williams, of the Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, also criticized JAAB and its blog. He said his organization could have handled the Judge Greene matter in a “more professional way.” It would have been better, he said, to have the minority bar and the defense bar sit down with Ross and Greene to discuss the incident.
Michael Ahearn, a criminal defense attorney and former frequent contributor, said the Web site was conceived to expose misconduct but has been ruined by its nasty tone. “There’s a slippery slope of negativity,” Ahearn said. “The powers that be at JAAB do nothing to moderate it.”
Still, Finkelstein, the public defender, credits the blog for making a positive contribution. “Regardless of the truth or falsity, the blog is part of the social conversation in the legal community, the judicial community and the journalistic community,” he said.
Jordana Mishory can be reached at jmishory@alm.com or at (954) 468-2616.
William Gelin photo by Melanie Bell
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