JOSEPH J. REITER, ET AL., PETITIONERS,
v.
ROBERT M. GROSS, ETC., RESPONDENT

Fla. | 1992-03-23
No. 79075
599 So. 2d 1275 Florida Supreme Court (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court accepted a petition for prohibition to prevent a circuit court from adjudicating the constitutionality of the Code of Judicial Conduct's canon prohibiting judges from publicly endorsing candidates. The Court transferred the case to itself as the exclusive tribunal authorized to interpret and modify the Code of Judicial Conduct.


Holding

The Florida Supreme Court held that it has exclusive original jurisdiction over matters concerning the constitutionality of the Code of Judicial Conduct and transferred the case to itself for determination. The Court did not reach the merits of the constitutional challenge but established that only the Supreme Court can void or modify the Code of Judicial Conduct.


Headnotes

[1] A state's supreme court has exclusive original jurisdiction to modify or eliminate provisions of its Code of Judicial Conduct.

[2] Lower courts are bound by the rules and decisions of the state's supreme court and cannot void or modify rules adopted by it.

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“This Court has exclusive original jurisdiction to eliminate, change, or modify these provisions.”

Establishes that the Florida Supreme Court alone can modify the Code of Judicial Conduct

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

A judge wrote letters to newspapers endorsing a judicial officer in the November 1990 general election, prompting the Judicial Qualifications Commissi…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court

This cause is before this Court on a petition for prohibition brought by the Judicial Qualifications Commission (Commission) to prohibit a circuit court action. The Commission brought a disciplinary proceeding charging a judge with writing letters to newspapers endorsing a judicial officer in the November 1990 general election, in violation of canons 1, 2, and'7 A(l)(b), of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The respondent judge in those proceedings then brought a declaratory judgment and injunctive action in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit against the Commission, seeking to enjoin its action. The respondent argued that canon 7 A(l)(b) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which provides that a judge should not “publicly endorse a candidate for public office,” is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment. This is the action sought to be prohibited by the Commission.

The Code of Judicial Conduct of this state was adopted by this Court in In re The Florida Bar-Code of Judicial Conduct, 281 So. 2d 21 (Fla.1973), and modified in subsequent decisions.1 This Court has exclusive original jurisdiction to eliminate, change, or modify these provisions. See In re Petition of Post-Newsweek Stations, Florida, Inc., 370 So. 2d 764 (Fla.1979). Furthermore, the courts of this state are bound to follow the decisions and rules of this Court, and only this Court can void or modify a rule it has adopted. See State v. Lott, 286 So. 2d 565 (Fla.1973).

Under article V, section 2(a), of the Florida Constitution, this Court has the responsibility to “transfer to the court having jurisdiction of any proceeding when the jurisdiction of another court has been improvidently invoked.” The basis of the circuit court action underlying this petition for prohibition is the constitutionality of provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Given the above circumstances, and in accordance with the provisions of article V, section 2, we transfer Case No. CL 91 9766, from the Circuit Court, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, Florida, to this Court and treat it as a petition to declare unconstitutional the subject provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Accordingly, we direct that the plaintiffs, Hugh Glick-stein and American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Inc., file a brief on or before April 7, 1992; that the deijendants, Joseph J. Reiter, J. Klein Wigginton, Thomas H. Barkdull, Jr., Sybil H. Barnes, Miette K. Burnstein, Harry Lee Coe, Jr., Seth Dennis, Thomas B. Freeman, Marvin H. Gillman, Frank N. Kaney, Rutledge R. Liles, Nancy N. Mahon, and Stanley G. Tate, individually and as members of the Judicial Qualifications Commission of the State of Florida, file a brief on or before April 22,1992; that the plaintiffs file a reply brief on or before April 29, 1992; and that this cause be set for oral argument on May 6, 1992, 9 A.M. If any issues remain after this Court determines the constitutionality issue, those matters will be remanded to the appropriate tribunal for resolution.

With regard to the petition for prohibition, we find no further action is necessary since the offending action has been transferred to this Court for consideration as outlined above.

It is so ordered.

. These decisions are The Fla. Bar, Code of Judicial Conduct, Status of Judges’ Spouses, 336 So. 2d 584 (Fla.1976); In re Canon 7C, Code of Judicial Conduct, 347 So. 2d 420 (Fla.1977); In re Code of Judicial Conduct (Financial Disclosure), 348 So. 2d 891 (Fla.1977); Code of Judicial Conduct, 367 So. 2d 221 (Fla.1979); In re Petition of Post-Newsweek Stations, Fla., Inc., 370 So. 2d 764 (Fla.1979); The Fla. Bar, Petition to Amend the Code of Judicial Conduct, 414 So. 2d 508 (Fla.1982); and In re Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 6C(1), 506 So. 2d 1039 (Fla.1987).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • In re Code OF Jud. Conduct (Canons 1, 603 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 1992)
    …pecially with an opinion. KOGAN, J., dissents with an opinion. SHAW, J., recused. . The JQC has stayed proceeding against Judge Glickstein until our resolution of this matter. . We dismissed the petition for writ of prohibition. Reiter v. Gross, 599 So. 2d 1275 (Fla.1992). . The text of canon 1 reads as follows: An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing, and should himself observe, high standar…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw