FORT LAUDERDALE – A commission has recommended that a judge on the Broward County Court in Florida receive a 30-day suspension for political favoritism.
According to the commission's findings and recommendations of discipline issued Nov. 29, Claudia Robinson was accused and found guilty of assigning a vastly "disproportionate" amount of mediation work to a former political consultant Michael Ahearn. Of the 296 cases that Robinson ordered to mediation, 245 were assigned to Ahearn. This violated rule 3C(4), which demands that all such appointments be impartial.
The Sun Sentinel reported Dec. 1 that Robison had accepted the commission's recommendations and findings.
The commission's ruling states that during her 2014 judicial campaign, Robinson often sought advice from Ahearn, who often helped her plan campaign and media strategy. Robinson ended up winning the campaign by a narrow margin, and assumed her position on the bench in 2015.
Robinson contended that she made no prior arrangement with her former adviser to give him mediation work, she also claims that although Ahearn was entered as the default mediator, in many of the cases the parties were allowed a different one upon request. However, she does concede that appearance of political was created, blaming her mistake on a "lapse in judgment," according to the commission.
The commission took into consideration the regret that Robinson displayed for her actions, and the fact that she taken constructive steps to rectify the misconduct by expanding the list of mediators and paying closer attention how many cases each mediator is receiving.
Despite its recognition of the above factors, the commission found that a punishment was still warranted and recommended suspending Robinson for 30 days without pay.
“The commission has charged, and Judge Robinson has acknowledged and admitted, that her conduct in appointing her former campaign adviser, Mr. Ahearn, to a disproportionate number of mediations failed to upheld the integrity and independence of the judiciary in violation of Canon 1, created the appearance of impropriety in violation Canon 2, and fostered the appearance of favoritism toward Mr. Ahearn in violation of Canon 3C(4),” the stipulation read.