IN RE INQUIRY CONCERNING A JUDGE NO. 76-13
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The Florida Supreme Court granted the Judicial Qualifications Commission's request to suspend circuit judge J. Cail Lee pending disposition of formal charges against him. The Court suspended Lee with pay, finding that public knowledge of the charges had adversely affected his judicial effectiveness.
The Court granted the suspension request and suspended Judge Lee with pay pending further order of the Court. The Court found that Lee's effectiveness as a judge had been adversely affected by public knowledge of the charges, justifying temporary suspension.
[1] A judicial qualifications commission's request for suspension of a judge pending disposition of formal charges constitutes an application to open all further proceedings,…
[2] A judge must be afforded an opportunity to be heard before being suspended by the court.
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“The Commission and Judge Lee, by his actions and response, concur that his effectiveness as a judge has been adversely affected by the public knowledge of the charges, and we agree that he should be temporarily suspended with pay pending an early disposition by the Judicial Qualifications Commission of the charges against him.”
Establishes the Court's basis for suspension: the adverse effect of public knowledge of charges on judicial effectiveness, with agreement from both the Commission and Judge Lee.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJudge Lee was the subject of formal charges filed by the Judicial Qualifications Commission. The Court received the suspension request on May 13, 1976…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
This cause is before the Court upon the request of the Judicial Qualifications Commission to suspend Honorable J. Cail Lee as a circuit judge pending disposition of proceedings on formal charges which have been filed against said judge and made a part of this proceeding. This request inherently constitutes an application to open all further proceedings in this matter, eliminating confidentiality pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 12(d) of the Florida Constitution, and Judicial Qualifications Commission Rule 8.
This Court received this request on Thursday, May 13, 1976, and it appearing that Judge Lee had been afforded no opportunity to be heard before the Judicial Qualifications Commission, we issued an order directing Judge Lee to show cause in writing on or before 12:00 Noon, May 18, 1976, why suspension should not be granted as requested. This order, the formal charges, and the request for suspension were personally served upon Judge Lee on Friday, May 14, 1976. A response by Judge Lee has been duly filed in this cause, advising the Court that he had voluntarily suspended himself. He further represented to the Court that he would consent to a formal order of suspension in the event his trial scheduled for May 20, 1976, in Municipal Court, was for any reason postponed or continued. We withheld our decision in order not to influence the immediate impending trial in the Municipal Court. Said trial was postponed by reason of the request by Judge Lee to have said cause transferred to the County Court for Broward County, Florida.
There is public knowledge of the formal charges made by the Judicial Qualifications Commission against Judge Lee. The Commission and Judge Lee, by his actions and response, concur that his effectiveness as a judge has been adversely affected by the public knowledge of the charges, and we agree that he should be temporarily suspended with pay pending an early disposition by the Judicial Qualifications Commission of the charges against him.
We hereby grant the Judicial Qualifications Commission’s request for suspension of the Honorable J. Cail Lee as a circuit judge until further order of this Court, effective this date.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, C. J., and ROBERTS, ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND, SUND-BERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur.
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In re Inquiry Concerning a Judge re Harvey N. Shenberg. In re Inquiry Concerning a Judge re Alfonso C. Sepe, 632 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 1991)…urt’s October 15, 1991 Order suspending them without compensation, nor did the Order violate the petitioners’ due process rights. We find that the petitioners’ first due process claim is without merit. In In re Inquiry Concerning a Midge (LaMotte), 333 So. 2d 22 (Fla.1976), we held that twenty-four hours’ notice is adequate for a show of cause hearing. In the instant case, the JQC provided notice four calendar days before the scheduled hearing. Thus, the JQC’s notice to the petitioners exceeded the minimum…