Indictment of judge stuns his colleaguesFV, you all sure have lots of corruption in Florida, at all levels, it seems.Posted March 12, 2005
When Alan Apte became an Orange-Osceola Circuit judge in 2002, he said the ideal candidate had to be beyond reproach.
"A judge," he wrote, "is the conscience of the whole community."
Now Apte, 37, faces charges that he paid someone to collect ballots, an accusation that has gotten him booted off his cases and could ultimately land him in jail.
* * *
Friday, Chief Judge Belvin Perry removed Apte from the cases he was overseeing. Perry does not have the power to formally suspend judges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 24, 2005 CONTACT: Francine Walker, The Florida BarSTATEMENT OF KELLY OVERSTREET JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR
TALLAHASSEE -- The tragic and high visibility case of Terri Schiavo has resulted in an unprecedented and unjustified attack upon our judiciary. Regardless of anyone’s personal or political feelings about the Schiavo case, this is a critical time for Americans to recognize the vital role of the judiciary in maintaining the rule of law and the importance of the separation of powers among the three branches of government.It is in times like these that we should recognize that our judges, on a daily basis and not just in high profile cases, have the duty and responsibility to protect the rights and liberties afforded to all of us by law. Judges have no control over which cases come before them and they will inevitably be involved in deciding difficult and unpopular cases. When presiding over a case, judges make rulings based solely on the Constitution and other laws, and not their own feelings or personal beliefs.
While we may disagree with decisions and actions of public officials including judges, it is entirely unacceptable and unfair for our judges to be criticized and even vilified when no judicial basis for such criticism exists. Unfortunately that is what is happening as emotions heighten in the Terri Schiavo case. Florida newspapers are now reporting that Circuit Judge George Greer has not only been accused of murder and terrorism by congressional leaders in Washington, but has received death threats and was pressured to leave his church.
Societal dilemmas should never be confused with constitutional responsibilities. Florida’s legal profession knows from polling that Floridians want nothing less than a fair and impartial judiciary. Judge Greer is an ideal representative of the type of judge citizens want to hear their case. His rulings are based on laws, not emotions and not politics. Indeed, his rulings have been repeatedly reviewed and scrutinized by many different courts on many different occasions. We must continue to have confidence in our legal system and expect our judges to act with the knowledge and integrity required of their position.
Judges are limited by duty to responding to such unfair criticism. But Florida’s editorial boards, community leaders and the 75,000-member Florida Bar are not. The Florida Bar joins many of the state’s major newspapers and democratic advocates in denouncing the unwarranted attacks on the judges and courts which serve everyone in this great country.
A Florida lawyer responds to the Bar president
Poking around the Florida Bar website, the operation of which I help to pay for with my mandatory annual dues, I noted that the Bar President, Kelly Overstreet Johnson, had issued a press release titled Bar President Denounces Attacks on Judiciary. Uh-oh. That makes me feel as if I'm about to be called to the principal's office.* * *
If the average Joe, not possessing a law degree, can't identify a "judicial basis" to criticize judges -- who are public, government officials, often elected -- then the masses are simply not permitted, in your world, to question those with the power to remove one's life from him or her. In that one sentence, you establish yourself a true elitist, apparently oblivious to the true fear of judges that Americans are uneasily beginning to discern. Beside that, it is a ridiculous notion. You seem to suggest that as long as a judge is above criticism "judicially", he cannot be criticized at all, for anything. If you mean what I say, then I suggest that you lobby to get Judge Apte and Judge Henson back on the bench immediately, and do it with a press release just like this one (these are two Florida judges who recently had troubles completely unrelated to their actions and rulings on the bench). (Read On)