by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
A new commission set up by the Jacksonville Bar Association met for the first time Monday with the hope that it could ensure campaigns for judgeships will maintain “the dignity and integrity appropriate to the legal profession and the judicial system.”
“The (nominating) committee chose people whose reputations are beyond reproach, who are perceived generally to be above the fray,” said Hank Coxe, one of the four members of the nominating committee.
The members of the JBA’s Judicial Campaign Review Commission are Charles Pillans III, Buddy Schultz, Christine Milton, Alexandra Hedrick, Dan Coffman, Fred Franklin, Wesley Poole from Nassau County and Larry Smith from Clay County.
The other members of the nominating committee were Jim Moseley Jr., president of the JBA; Reginald Luster, incoming president of the JBA; and Grier Wells.
“The things we were looking for were standing in the legal community and diversity of thought, geography, gender and race. And people who could commit to the process,” said Moseley.
Monday’s meeting was hosted by Wells in the offices of Akerman Senterfitt.
The board of governors of The Florida Bar has recommended that local bar associations form commissions to resolve campaign disputes. Most of those disputes, in the past, have been about a candidate misrepresenting his qualifications, misrepresenting an opponent’s qualifications and misrepresenting campaign endorsements.
Although The Florida Bar’s own plan is not yet complete, the JBA decided it wanted to be ready for this year’s elections.
“We voted to create the commission about a month ago, but we’re on a short fuse,” Moseley said. “We expedited the process because of the oncoming election.
“Our goal was to have this set up by April 1, and we’ve met that goal.”
An estimated 17 judges are up for re-election this year. So far, there’s no indication how many, if any, of those races will be contested.
Qualifying for judges will be in May. Elections will be Aug. 31.
The local commission’s mission is based upon programs adopted by bar associations in other jurisdictions, particularly Dade and Palm Beach counties.
There are three major areas of concern:
• To help ensure that candidates are adequately informed about regulations, laws and standards governing the conduct of elective campaigns.
• To discourage improper campaign conduct.
• To encourage the prompt, effective resolution of alleged campaign improprieties.
The commission will not decide questions of financial disclosure or on the propriety of campaign expenditures. However, the commission’s “proper scope” does include “questions of the propriety of campaign solicitations of funds or support by candidates,” according to its operating procedures.
“We hope this will never come up in Northeast Florida,” said Moseley said.
Some judges who have been found guilty of campaign violations have been fined as much as $50,000, said Chief Judge Donald Moran.
“This will keep that from happening to some poor soul,” he added.
According to the commission’s preamble, “An effort should be made to see that the Commission represents Duval, Nassau and Clay counties and the diversity of the 4th Judicial Circuit in regards to age, gender, ethnicity and geography.”
Commission members will not be allowed to get involved in campaigns or be permitted to endorse candidates.
Those who serve on commissions in other jurisdictions were asked to return donations they had made before they became members. Past donations to a candidate’s campaign should have no effect, Coxe said.
“Neutrality is crucial to the success of the process,” he said.
One question yet to be answered is if those prohibitions extend to a commission member’s law firm.
Those candidates who sign the campaign pledge agree to be governed by the decision of the commission, which, with a few exceptions, has to make a ruling within 48 hours. The commission’s rulings are to be immediately reported to the press.
The process has worked in other jurisdictions, Coxe said, “because of the partnership that existed between the voluntary bar association and the media.”
All candidates in all the jurisdictions that have such a process have agreed to sign the pledge. One of the reasons, Wells said, was that those who failed to sign knew they would be “fair game” to the opposition.
“We’re asking them to follow the judicial canons of ethics, which is what they should following anyway,” said Moseley. “It’s not like we’re putting some onerous burden on them.”