Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. 09-518 re Colodny

51 So. 3d 430, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 700, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 2055, 2010 WL 4878864
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedDecember 2, 2010
DocketNo. SC10-1486
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 51 So. 3d 430 (Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. 09-518 re Colodny) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. 09-518 re Colodny, 51 So. 3d 430, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 700, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 2055, 2010 WL 4878864 (Fla. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

We review the recommendation of the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) that Judge Yvonne Colodny receive the sanction of a public reprimand and a fine of $5000 for misconduct during her 2008 campaign for circuit court judge in the Eleventh Circuit. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 12, Fla. Const. For the reasons that follow, we approve the recommended discipline.

I. BACKGROUND

The JQC filed charges against Judge Colodny, alleging that during her 2008 judicial campaign, Judge Colodny listed contributions to her campaign fund totaling $125,000 as loans made by her, when those funds were in fact loans from her father made in violation of the contribution limits set by section 106.08, Florida Statutes (2007). The JQC alleged that Judge Co-lodny’s conduct violated Canon 1 (A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary), Canon 2A (“A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act ... in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”), and Canon 6B (Public Financial Reporting) of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct.

In July 2010, the JQC and Judge Colod-ny entered a stipulation and filed it with this Court. The stipulation provided the following detail regarding Judge Colodny’s misconduct. On May 1, 2008, Judge Co-lodny executed a promissory note for $150,000 in favor of her parents Michael and Lou Anne Colodny, which was to be secured by a mortgage on Judge Colodny’s condominium in Miami-Dade County. In four installments during the period of August through October 2008, Michael Colod-[431]*431ny disbursed $125,000 to Judge Colodny. Following each disbursement, Judge Co-lodny deposited funds in the same amount as the disbursement into her campaign account. Each of these four deposits was listed on Judge Colodny’s quarterly campaign treasurer’s reports as a loan from the candidate.

Judge Colodny was a candidate in the August 26, 2008, primary election and was elected to office on November 4, 2008. On November 11, 2008, Judge Colodny filed a report with the Division of Elections pursuant to section 106.075(1), Florida Statutes (2007), disclosing that she received loans in the aggregate amount of $125,000 from her father. Section 106.075(1) provides that “within 10 days after being elected to office” “[a] person who is elected to office must report all loans, exceeding $500 in value, made to him or her and used for campaign purposes, and made in the 12 months preceding his or her election to office.”

On July 2, 2009, Judge Colodny filed her annual Form 6 “Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests” statement, which required disclosure of all financial interests for 2008. Judge Colodny failed to disclose the loans from her father on the Form 6. On August 31, 2009, Judge Colodny and her parents modified their agreement— reducing the amount of the promissory note to $125,000 and relinquishing the lien on the condominium to allow for the sale of the condominium. After Judge Colodny received notice in January 2010 that the JQC had begun an investigation, Judge Colodny filed an amended Form 6, which listed the liability to her parents.

In the stipulation, Judge Colodny accepted responsibility for her wrongdoing. She admitted that the loan from her father was made “specifically for her use in campaigning for judicial office and was made for the purpose of influencing the results of the election.” Judge Colodny explained that she had intended to adhere to the campaign finance laws but erroneously interpreted section 106.075 as implicitly allowing judicial candidates to borrow campaign funds from individuals in excess of $500 per lender. Judge Colodny conceded that “she should have exercised greater care in the disclosure of her liabilities on the Form 6.”

The stipulation incorporated the JQC’s Findings and Recommendation of Discipline. The JQC concluded that Judge Co-lodny violated Canons 1, 2A, and 6B. However, because it found that Judge Co-lodny did not make any intentional misrepresentations, the JQC distinguished Judge Colodny’s case from In re Rodriguez, 829 So.2d 857 (Fla.2002), and In re Pando, 903 So.2d 902 (Fla.2005). The JQC recommended a public reprimand and a fine of $5000 as appropriate discipline.

II. ANALYSIS

Article V, section 12 of the Florida Constitution provides that in the case of judicial misconduct, this Court “may accept, reject, or modify in whole or in part the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the [JQC] and it may order that the ... judge be subjected to appropriate discipline.” Art. V, § 12(c)(1), Fla. Const. (2008). “Although this Court gives the findings and recommendations of the JQC great weight, the ultimate power and responsibility in making a determination to discipline a judge rests with this Court.” In re Renke, 933 So.2d 482, 493 (Fla.2006) (citing In re Angel, 867 So.2d 379, 382 (Fla.2004)). In this case, the JQC recommended that Judge Colodny be publicly reprimanded and fined $5000. We agree that Judge Colodny’s misconduct was less egregious or more mitigated than the misconduct at issue in Rodriguez and Pando and that a less severe sanction than was [432]*432imposed in those cases is appropriate here. Because the JQC’s recommended discipline is consistent with this Court’s precedent, we approve the recommendation.

In Rodriguez, the JQC determined that Judge Rosa I. Rodriguez knowingly accepted a campaign contribution in the amount of $200,000, made for the purpose of influencing the results of the election. The loan was made by Attorney Gabriel Bach, Judge Rodriguez’s then boyfriend. Judge Rodriguez filed campaign reports with the Division of Elections, stating that she personally loaned the $200,000 to her campaign. Additionally, in reports submitted pursuant to section 106.075, Florida Statutes (1997), Judge Rodriguez represented that the loan was made by her brother Hugo Rodriguez and failed to disclose that $80,000 had been used to partially repay Bach. In a Form 6 public disclosure, Judge Rodriguez again failed to disclose the $120,000 remaining debt to Bach. Finally, after the campaign, Judge Rodriguez filed a letter with the Division of Elections, falsely stating that her previously submitted net worth statement failed to include a $120,000 balance on a loan from Hugo Rodriguez. Rodriguez, 829 So.2d at 858-59.

The JQC concluded that Judge Rodriguez’s conduct violated provisions of chapter 106, Florida Statutes, and Canons 1, 2, 5D, 6B, and 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The JQC recommended that Judge Rodriguez be suspended without pay for four months, receive a public reprimand, be fined $40,000, and pay the court reporter fees incurred by the JQC. This Court accepted the recommended discipline, explaining that the $40,000 fíne was designed to partially reimburse the State for salary paid to Judge Rodriguez while she was previously suspended with pay during a criminal investigation. Id. at 861.

In Rodriguez, the JQC determined that “Judge Rodriguez’s actions were committed negligently, and not as a pervasive scheme to evade the elections laws.” Id. at 861 n. 2. In this case, the JQC determined there was “nothing in the record to indicate that Judge Colodny acted other than on the advice of counsel and based on her interpretation of the applicable statutes.” This finding was supported by affidavits submitted to the investigative panel by Judge Colodny’s father and her campaign treasurer.

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51 So. 3d 430, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 700, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 2055, 2010 WL 4878864, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inquiry-concerning-a-judge-no-09-518-re-colodny-fla-2010.