First Amendment Rights & Judge Cliff Barnes

Petition to Dismiss Charges Against Judge Cliff Barnes
By: "The People"

Introduction: Judicial corruption continues in Florida -- Bill Truelle

Briefs & Other Documents in Re: Judge Cliff Barnes

Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Conflict-of-Interest Opinion

Links to Published Articles

Judges Speaking Out on Behalf of 'The People'

We the People Respond

Click to Read Judge Barnes Petition for Writ of Mandamus

CURRENT NEWS & VIEWS

April 2008

Judge in St. Lucie answers to accusations of ethics violations

By Tyler Treadway, TC Palm

4-23-08 -- More accustomed to presiding over legal hearings, St. Lucie County Judge Cliff Barnes had something of his own day in court Tuesday, answering allegations that he violated judicial ethics by publicly criticizing other judges and officials in the local legal system. . . . At the start of what is expected to be a three-day hearing before a panel for the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Special Counsel Michael Schneider cited a March 16, 2006, guest column Barnes wrote for the Tribune and a petition Barnes filed with the 4th District Court of Appeals, both chiding judges, the State Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office for the way first appearance hearings are handled in the county courts. . . . Schneider said Barnes had a "crusade" to alleviate overcrowding at the St. Lucie County Jail — an issue Barnes became involved with while serving as a 12-year member of the St. Lucie County Commission. . . . This is the first Judicial Qualifications Commission case on the Treasure Coast since 2001, and the only one to make it into the hearing stage, according to the commission office in Tallahassee. In 2001, charges were filed against Circuit Judge Scott Kenney. The case was dismissed after Kenney worked out an arrangement with the commission. The only other case in St. Lucie County prior to that occurred in 1985, and the judge under investigation resigned.

Selected Comments from TC Palm Readers:

Posted by Darby1 on April 23, 2008

I guess freedom of speech is not allowed anymore? I thought we did away with the "just following orders" defense after WWII. . . . Judges are still citizens, first and foremost. Being a judge is only their job, That's all. Judges sometimes forget that they are hired to do a job. . . . It is the duty of citizens to speak up when they see something wrong. Judge Barnes had the courage to do so.

Posted by FloridaWyld on April 23, 2008

So let me see if I understand this. He criticized other judges for the way they violate the laws (which say first appearances should be within 24 hours) and now he's under review? . . . Makes about as much sense as anything else in this county.

Posted by reefdawg on April 23, 2008

The judiciary is so far from impartiality, it makes this story laughable. It's clear, the judiciary is just another extension of "big brother." Those who differ on this observation are either "shooting from the hip with their comments", or honestly don't know how broken our system is right now in our courts. . . . Kudos to Judge Barnes. He's right, I agree with his call on this issue and although he wears a robe, he is still protected by the fundamental rights of free speech and redress.

Posted by teebo on April 23, 2008

Judge Barnes is a man of principle, who tried to work behind the scenes to correct things before commenting publicly. There are 20 judicial circuits in this state, and in the other 19 they do first appearances one way (with representation for the accused), and only here in glorious DiamondLittyland do we deny the arrested a lawyer and tell the judge he's a powerless puppet at first appearances; and further, if he speaks out about it, they'll come for him under these ludicrously vague regulations. Does anyone notice the common theme here: Ms. Litty is called on an issue (judicial criticism of her office's performance in one case, sexual harassment in the other) and both times she attacks the accuser instead of looking to improve her own act. Her act is a tired one, which values policical self-preservation above all other concerns. I hope Judge Barnes' lawyer eats her for breakfast, and I hope he has a strong stomach. Vote her out.

Posted by JoeV on April 23, 2008

It is a shame that the other judges don't have the courage to speak up when something is obviously wrong instead of putting their heads in the sand. Doing it the way it has always been done is not an excuse when someone's constitutional rights are violated. This county needs to get up to speed with the rest of the state.

Posted by Seasoul on April 23, 2008

Anyone who heard Judge Barnes speak in that courtroom today could not help but be impressed with him. He is an excellent judge, humanitarian and citizen. The JQC saw these characteristics today and, hopefully, now the shameful treatment he has endured from his peers will end. He has been right all along. Good for you, Cliff.

Introduction:

Judicial corruption continues in Florida

Judge Cliff Barnes of St. Lucie County Court Florida spoke out against corruption and is now being attacked by
Florida’s Judicial Qualification Committee

William Trudelle, Of my own free will. TheProtester.com

The JQC complaint against Judge Barnes can only be described as a meaningless act of retribution by a syndicate of legal practitioners abusing Florida’s legal system. When the citizens of Florida are forced into the legal system it is the members of The Florida Bar that reap the benefits. Increased criminal convictions and plea bargains accomplished in violation of due process and the law force higher taxes and divert government money away from legitimate social needs. Frivolous and fraudulent lawsuits weaken and destroy our economy. It is a monopoly on justice that has created an injustice against Florida Citizens. Legal corruption can be stopped now by simply enforcing ethics in the legal system. When Judges Cliff Barnes spoke out against how his colleagues where abusing; the system, the law, and the constitution, his colleagues took action against Judge Barnes in the form of an ill-conceived complaint to the Judicial Qualification Committee. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/jqc.shtml

Even a layman to the law can see the charges against the Judge are superficial; this is how the corrupted Florida Bar has successfully usurped power from the citizens. The Florida Bar has gone unchallenged by WE THE PEOPLE for too long. I implore every reader of this article to read the JQC complaint against Judge Barnes, become informed and take control of your government’s power over you. Take action and live free, do nothing and you lose the liberties too many have fought and died to preserve. I believe if WE THE PEOPLE do not support Judge Barnes it is WE THE PEOPLE who will suffer the greatest lose. It is when good people do nothing that evil wins.

The State of Florida is now rated at the bottom in Legal Fairness (Harris Poll), some 70% of Floridians do not trust attorney’s (Florida Bar Study), the Florida Bar’s own statistics state that 14% to 20% of lawyers and judges suffer impairment disorders including on-going cocaine addiction (Florida Lawyers Assistants Program), yet theses legal practitioners continue, shielded by rules and laws created by a self-serving Florida Bar. It is WE THE PEOPLE who must make our government accountable and when the righteous defend our freedoms we must defend those who had the courage to take action. If this is to be a government formed by “you the people” and for “you the people” then I ask you to take 10 to 15 minutes to educate yourself “Google Judge Cliff Barnes”, read the JQC complaint and his response. Take action right now, forward this to your friends and you will reap the benefits. Let the corrupt know the righteous have allies. Send this to your friends, write letters of support to Judge Barnes and the JQC, let them know you support Judge Barnes and any Judge willing to speak out against the legal corruption which has become far to prevalent in our court rooms. When Judge Barnes wins we all win.

The Honorable Cliff Barnes

St. Lucie County Court, 226 Courthouse Addition

218 South 2nd Street, Fort Pierce, FL 34950

Supreme Court of Florida
Briefs & Other Documents in Case No. 06-2119

Case Number:  SC06-2119  - Active

Inquiry Concerning A Judge, NO. 05-437 vs.  Re: Clifford H. Barnes

More information about this case can be obtained from
Florida’s On-Line Docket.

Individual briefs and other documents in Acrobat format: 2007:

Filed_03-06-2007_ResponseForDiscovery.pdf

Filed_03-06-2007_ResponseMotionDismiss.pdf

Filed_03-06-2007_ResponseToEnforce.pdf

Filed_03-12-2007_AmendedNoticeFormalCharges.pdf

Filed_03-30-2007_JQCRequestDiscovery.pdf

Filed_04-02-2007_AdminOrder.pdf

Filed_04-02-2007_ResponseAmendedNoticeFormalCharges.pdf

Filed_04-12-2007_MotionProhibitExParteCommunication.pdf

Filed_04-18-2007_ResponseExParte.pdf

Filed_05-10-2007_NoticeAppearance.pdf

Individual briefs and other documents in Acrobat format: 2006:

Filed_10-26-2006_NoticeFormalCharges.pdf

Filed_11-13-2006_BarnesResponse.pdf

Filed_11-13-2006_MotionDismissCharges.pdf

Filed_12-04-2006_MotionEnforceProbableCauseNotice.pdf

Filed_12-04-2006_MotionHearingCountyResidence.pdf

Filed_12-04-2006_MotionIdentifyPanelMembers.pdf

Filed_12-04-2006_RequestDiscoveryProduction.pdf

Filed_12-15-2006_NoticeOfTakingVideotapedDeposition.pdf

Filed_12-15-2006_NoticeOfUnavailability.pdf

Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee

Opinion Number: 2001-05 -- Date of Issue: April 10, 2001

DISCUSSION

In the past, the Committee has determined that a judge need not disqualify because a spouse is employed by the State Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, or Legal Aid. See, e.g., Fla. JEAC Op. 97-25 ("Given Florida's historical view of employment by the State Attorney or Public Defender, we find that employment of a spouse by Legal Aid should not automatically lead to disqualification."); Fla. JEAC Op. 91-17 (finding that, although disqualification is not automatic just because the spouse works as an assistant public defender, if the circumstances of the case somehow place the judge's impartiality in question, the judge should disqualify). These opinions and others, such as Fla. JEAC Opinions 77-12, 77-4, and 76-12, however, do not deal with the facts now at hand.

Canon 3E of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct generally addresses the topic of judicial disqualification. Specifically, Canon 3E(1) provides: "A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned . . . ." Circumstances in which the Code presumes that a judge's partiality might reasonably be questioned include a situation where the judge, or the judge's spouse, is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding. Fla. Code Jud. Conduct, Canon 3E(1)(d)(ii). In the present case, as the inquiring judge apparently recognizes, the elected public defender is not only in charge of all assistant public defenders, she is the attorney of record in cases where the public defender has been assigned. See §27.51(1), Fla. Stat. (2000). Assistant public defenders are appointed at the sole discretion of the elected public defender and serve at the pleasure of the public defender. See §27.53(1), Fla. Stat. (2000). Accordingly, the inquiring judge is disqualified by the terms of Canon 3E from hearing cases that involve the public defender.

The Committee notes that the remittal of disqualification procedure of Canon 3F is apparently available to this inquiring judge. Nevertheless, because the judge would know in advance that he would be disqualified from a large number of criminal cases, the procedure of remitting disqualification would be quite burdensome, and perhaps completely ineffective. Moreover, the Committee is concerned that the appearance of impropriety created where the presiding judge's spouse is the elected public defender, would militate in favor of blanket disqualification.

The purpose of this website is to help the public become better informed about the judges who may be presiding over their case. This site puts a mirror to those public servants who make-up our courts. Judges can also become better informed about how others (particularly, lawyers) view them. Robeprobe serves as a report card that lawyers and litigants can use to grade the best performing judges and the worst performing judges.

Published Articles

(Click headline to read full article)
In order of: Newest to Oldest

Common Sense Lost: World Gone Mad

By Carrie K. Hutchens

3-6-07 -- Common sense has indeed been lost in so many areas of life that it has become overly alarming. How did that happen? Is it something in the air? Something in our food? Something beaming us from a satellite in the sky? A signal from our cell phones or radiating outward from our computer monitor and television screens? Is it the ink on our newspapers or the toilet paper? Or maybe it is the water we drink, cook and wash with? What little burgers might be secretly invading our common sense and putting us on the path of madness at its best? . . . A nobody judge in Florida actually blew off a federal subpoena, thereby disrespecting the entire US legislative body and the judicial system, and nothing happened to him? If he says subpoenas don't have to be respected on the one hand, and nobody does a thing about it (except to give him some awards), how can ANY court demand ANY ONE else to respect a subpoena either? I mean... a judge said they are meaningless, so why bother with them? Hasn't a precedent been set here? The precedence of how crazy and unreliable this world and its rules have become? (Rules only must be followed by some -- not all. Judge George Greer has ruled such to be so.) . . . But then, we have the situation with Judge Cliff Barnes, who is from -- you guessed it -- Florida. Wonder what is happening with that case. The case where a judge actually spoke up about some problems in the system and the JQC wanted to wipe out his judge hood as a result of his speaking up. How dare he suggest that anything might be wrong with a system that so impacts the lives of citizens? Can't have that happening, now can we? . . . One might think this ends at the borders of Florida. If only it did.

Criminal justice study good guide for St. Lucie

4-09-05 -- St. Lucie County Judges Cliff Barnes and Philip Yacucci have worked out a compromise in their public feud over how to handle first-appearance court hearings. The feud itself is a sign that change has begun in a court system that needs it. . . . Judge Barnes, following suggestions in a criminal justice report as well as "what I was taught to do in judge school," has lowered bonds and released people, rather than make them wait in jail for further court action. Judge Yacucci complained to Chief Circuit Judge William Roby that Judge Barnes violated Florida law by releasing defendants who have failed to appear for other court cases, or by lowering bonds set by other judges. . . . Judge Yacucci now has withdrawn his complaints and promised to work with Judge Barnes to make changes the report recommends -- such as providing more information to first-appearance judges and more help for defendants and the state at the hearings. . . . The Yacucci-Barnes dust-up probably is the first of many throughout the court system. Chief Judge Roby recognizes that consultant Alan Kalmanoff's assessment "has a number of excellent recommendations." He already is pushing for measures to reduce the jail population, such as electronic monitoring of suspects awaiting trial.

Judge Says Procedure Unfair To Indigent Defendants, Files Appeal Petition

From Public Defender Blog

Original Article From The Fort Pierce (Florida) Tribune:
7-12-06 -- County Judge Cliff Barnes claims his fellow judges, the state attorney and the public defender are breaking the law at first-appearance hearings and wants an appeals court to intervene.

Barnes filed a petition Monday with the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, asking the judges to order Public Defender Diamond Litty, State Attorney Bruce Colton, Sheriff Ken Mascara and others to follow the state's rules of criminal procedure. He also calls for fellow County Judge Tom Walsh to recuse himself from first appearance hearings because his marriage to Litty is a clear conflict of interest.

"It is unconscionable that these officers are incarcerating persons for not obeying laws through a procedure that does not itself follow the law," Barnes wrote.

Everyone who is arrested has the right to see a judge within 24 hours at a first-appearance hearing, but the flaws in the system mean the deck is stacked against those with less money. It poses a burden to taxpayers who must pay to keep them in jail, Barnes wrote.

Among the problems, he claims the sheriff's office doesn't alert newly arrested people to their rights to an attorney or allow them to quickly contact the public defender's office. At first appearances, judges rarely ask about circumstances that could justify releasing a person on their own recognizance pending trial, the preferred situation for nonviolent offenders, he wrote.

Assistant public defenders rarely push for a reasonable bond and judges don't give them time to confer with their clients once they are appointed. Judges typically rubber-stamp bonds that are already set at booking or by another judge who signed a warrant, allowing no input from defense attorneys or defendants.

"A defendant with the assets can bond out on a violent felony with no supervision pending trial, while an indigent defendant may have strict supervision on the most trivial of charges," Barnes wrote.

Barnes wants the appeals court to order Chief Circuit Judge William Roby to lay out instructions for judges on how first appearances should be handled. He also wants Colton and Litty to make sure attorneys are present at all hearings, including those on the weekend.

He claimed he advised Roby of his concerns and Roby told him he was not being "collegial" in following the procedures used by the other judges. Roby declined Barnes' suggestion to have a meeting of first-appearance judges and took Barnes off first-appearance duty last July.

Judicial leaders say St. Lucie judge has no standing to file complaint

By Sarah Prohaska, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

8-06 -- A legal complaint that St. Lucie County Judge Cliff Barnes filed against eight fellow judges and other top judicial officials should be dismissed because Barnes' own rights have not been affected by the court procedures he claims are illegal, his opponents argued in papers filed this week. . . . Attorneys for the judges along with the St. Lucie County sheriff and the Treasure Coast's public defender and state attorney all contend Barnes has no legal standing to ask the 4th District Court of Appeal to force them to change the way they handle first-appearance hearings. . . . Further, a lawyer for the judges says he cannot find a legal precedent that "would indicate a sitting judge has standing to sue another sitting judge...over the latter's alleged violations of the Rules of Criminal Procedures." . . . "(Barnes) is suing in his capacity as a St. Lucie County Judge and has no standing to compel other judges in his circuit to abide by his interpretation of the Rules of Criminal Procedure," Tallahassee attorney Gregory Smith wrote in papers he filed Wednesday.

St. Lucie judge charged with violating judicial code

By Sarah Prohaska, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

10-27-06 --St. Lucie County Judge Cliff Barnes could face disciplinary action — including the possibility of being removed from office — after a state judicial commission found probable cause to launch an inquiry into allegations he "demeaned the integrity and independence of the judiciary." . . . The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, the panel that investigates alleged misconduct by state judges, filed formal charges Thursday against Barnes, alleging he violated both the code of judicial conduct and Florida statutes. Barnes in July filed a petition asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to order several of his fellow judges, along with county sheriff, the Treasure Coast's public defender and state attorney, to change the way they conduct criminal defendants' first court appearances, alleging that the procedure they follow is illegal. . . . The commission's charges allege Barnes violated the judges' code by making these complaints public. Barnes also broke the rules by writing an article as a guest columnist in a local newspaper expressing his views on first appearances and jail crowding, which the charges allege "provides misleading information to the public concerning the judicial system.

Formal notice to Judge Cliff Barnes

State investigates Judge Cliff Barnes in ethics case

By Derek Simmonsen
10-27-06 -- A state agency has launched an investigation into whether County Judge Cliff Barnes violated judicial ethics by making public complaints this summer against the State Attorney, Public Defender and other judges. . . . The investigative arm of the Judicial Qualifications Commission found probable cause to file charges against him, alleging he broke judicial rules, according to the complaint, which was filed late Thursday. The commission is an independent agency that investigates accusations of misconduct against judges and is separate from the state court system. . . . Many of the accusations against Barnes stem from a complaint he filed with an appeals court in July claiming his fellow judges, the state attorney and the public defender were not following the law at first-appearance hearings, which are required within 24 hours of a person's arrest. Barnes specifically called for County Judge Tom Walsh to recuse himself from the criminal hearings, saying his marriage to Public Defender Diamond Litty was a conflict of interest. . . . Barnes is accused of demeaning the "integrity and independence" of the judiciary by publicly airing his complaints, including writing a guest column for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers called: "Criminal justice partners must get on same page." That column allegedly "provides misleading information to the public concerning the judicial system," according to the notice of formal charges filed against him. . . . "This cumulative misconduct constitutes a pattern and practice unbecoming a judicial officer and lacking the dignity appropriate to judicial office, with the effect of bringing the judiciary into disrepute," the complaint states. ***** Anyone can file a complaint with the commission and the notice of charges does not state who formally made the accusations against Barnes. He has 20 days to file an answer to the charges and will continue to work as a county judge unless the Florida Supreme Court issues an order removing him from duty.

Panel Seeks To Remove Judge For Demeaning Other Judges

© 2006 North Country Gazette

11-21-06 -- A St. Lucie County Court judge is learning first hand not to "rock the boat" and after filing complaints on his fellow judges, alleging that they couldn't be impartial and were allegedly acting improperly, he's had the tables turned on him. . . . Judge Cliff Barnes of the 19th Judicial Circuit is under investigation by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission for allegedly demeaning the integrity and independence of the judiciary by complaining about the propriety of the conduct of the St. Lucie County sheriff, state attorney and public defender and by allegedly writing about the issue as a guest columnist in a local newspaper. . . . Barnes was served notice that the commission has found that probable cause exists to file formal charges against him on Oct. 26. Most of the charges are related to a complaint that Barnes filed with the Fourth District Court of Appeals in July alleging that his fellow judges, the state attorney and the public defender weren't complying with the law at first appearance hearings which are required within 24 hours of a subject's arrest. . . . Barnes has filed his response and has moved to dismiss some of the charges. . . . He specifically called for County Judge Thomas Walsh to recuse himself from criminal hearings, saying that Walsh had a prohibited conflict of interest because he is married to public defender Diamond Litty. . . . The JQC charges that Barnes violated judicial canons by filed a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking the removal of Walsh, saying instead that Barnes' actions created an appearance of impropriety concerning his ability to act in an impartial manner as a judge in criminal proceedings. . . . The judicial disciplinary agency says that by charging specific improprieties of another judge which the JQC is without appropriate foundation, that Barnes has eroded the public confidence in the judicial system. The JQC also claims that by advocating a position that benefits third parties (the public) Barnes has violated the prohibition against a sitting judge practicing law.

Judges Speaking Out on Behalf of 'The People'

'We the People' Respond

The Game: Trial by Chance - Chapter Three

By Carrie K. Hutchens

The rules may change everywhere depending upon the players involved, but it appears that some in Florida either don't mind being obvious about any of it or think we're all too senile to remember and comprehend what has been taking place down there. In either case, they ended up with an audience they most likely weren't counting on.

Florida is the state where the Judicial Qualifications Commission has filed charges against Judge Cliff Barnes for supposedly breaking judicial rules. According to the TCPalm, "Barnes is accused of demeaning the "integrity and independence" of the judiciary by publicly airing his complaints, including writing a guest column for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers called: "Criminal justice partners must get on same page." That column allegedly "provides misleading information to the public concerning the judicial system," according to the notice of formal charges filed against him. "This cumulative misconduct constitutes a pattern and practice unbecoming a judicial officer and lacking the dignity appropriate to judicial office, with the effect of bringing the judiciary into disrepute," the complaint states." . . . I find this more than a little amusing! . . . The JQC thinks it is a horrendous wrong for Judge Barnes to have shared his thoughts through the press? Where was this horror back in 2003 when it appears a sitting judge was talking to the press about a pending case? That's right, seems as though they weren't worried about Judge George Greer allegedly making statements to the press about the Terri Schiavo case while motions were still before him. Nor were they concerned about Greer making negative comments about the governor. Apparently that doesn't count. It's dignified to put down the governor, I guess. Just can't put down the actions of another judge or procedure. To do the latter is treading on sacred ground, it would seem.