Judge Hawkins removed from the bench
Judge Hawkins removed from the bench
A Leon County judge who operated a religion-related business from her judicial offices with the help of her judicial assistant during working hours and then refused to provide records when the Judicial Qualifications Commission investigated has been removed from the bench by the Supreme Court.
The court rejected the recommendations of the JQC, which had suggested that Judge Judith Hawkins be reprimanded, suspended without pay for three months, and fined $17,000.
The JQC Hearing Panel said Hawkins self-published a book in 2008, and then set up the company Gaza Road Ministries (which she failed to register with the state) to market the book and other religious materials.
The panel concluded that, among other charges, Hawkins used her judicial office and time to promote her business interests, that her assistant set up a corporation to do business with Hawkins’ company and which she operated during her state-paid workdays, Hawkins failed to pay sales taxes on the proceeds from the business, that Hawkins deleted records and refused to comply with subpoenas when the JQC investigated her actions, that she read magazines and was inattentive when presiding in her courtroom, and that she was misleading and lacked candor during the JQC’s investigation.
The court agreed, finding clear and convincing evidence of the violations.
“Especially distressing is Judge Hawkins’ conduct in deleting Gaza Road Ministries’ financial data in the early morning hours of the day of her deposition after that data had been subpoenaed and after Judge Hawkins had originally agreed to produce it. This act alone is clear and convincing proof of Judge Hawkins’ extreme lack of candor in these proceedings,” the justices said, adding she also denied she had flash drives with financial information that she eventually produced.
“We consider a judge’s deceit or dishonesty to be a very serious factor in determining an appropriate sanction,” the court said. “Judge Hawkins’ misstatements to the investigating attorney and Investigative Panel, her deletion of subpoenaed financial information from her computer on the morning of her deposition, and her denial that she had flash drives are all forms of deception that can be equated to deceit or dishonesty for purposes of determining if removal is a proper sanction in this case.. . .
“We are fully mindful that the Hearing Panel found that Judge Hawkins has a generally exemplary record as a dedicated public servant who cares about others and who has been efficient and innovative in dispensing justice. We are also aware that Judge Hawkins operated her Gaza Road Ministries business primarily as a charitable enterprise, with good intentions. The Hearing Panel found that these mitigating factors played a large part in the ‘close call’ whether to remove or simply discipline Judge Hawkins. Nevertheless, we have found removal the appropriate sanction in cases where the judge has good character and a strong record.. . . Similarly in this case, we are constrained to conclude that Judge Hawkins’ prior record of service and good intentions cannot overcome the grievous nature of the violations in this case.”
In ordering Hawkins’ removal from office, the court also said, “It is our hope that this decision will serve as a reminder to judges of their continuing obligation to personally observe the high standards of conduct mandated by the Code of Judicial Conduct, and to conduct themselves in all things in a manner that will demonstrate candor and preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary.”
Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, and Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis, Charles Canady, Ricky Polston, and James Perry concurred in the per curiam opinion. Justice Peggy Quince was recused. The court acted October 30 in Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. 11-550 Re: Judith W. Hawkins, case no. SC 12-2495.
