Florida’s Supremes made it very clear in 2002:
“…conduct that substantially misleads the voting public and interferes with its right to make a knowing and intelligent decision as to a judicial candidate’s qualifications will simply not be tolerated in selecting members of the judiciary.”
The Florida Supreme Court is serious about ethical judicial elections.
Very serious.
Justices threw Palm Beach County Judge Dana Marie Santino off the bench this summer for misrepresenting her opponent’s experience during the 2016 election. She said, among other things, that the opponent’s legal experience was questionable because he defended “murderers, rapists, child molesters and other criminals.”
Candidates for judge need to be extra careful when campaigning because they are governed by a judicial Code of Ethics.
The problem is that many judicial candidates are political novices. They can be unduly influenced by their political consultants.
Judicial candidates need to remember:
Your consultant will never have to face the Supreme Court for stepping over the ethical line.
You will!
[Further down in the article, Buddy also posts about Broward Circuit Court’s Group 39 race. The headline: Candidate Camille Coolidge-Shotwell recently accused her opponent Susan Lynn Alspector of misleading a group of black ministers. There is also video]
Video of Candidate Camille Coolidge-Shotwell, accusing her opponent of misrepresentation:
