Best choices for Palm Beach County Circuit Court are Cheesman, St. Juste and McAuliffe
Six candidates got through the primary and are seeking three Palm Beach County circuit court seats in the Nov. 6 general election.
In the Group 18 primary, we first endorsed Marybel Coleman, a former prosecutor who practices family law. Then The Palm Beach Post reported Coleman’s affair five years ago with a client whom she had represented in a divorce. We rescinded the endorsement.
Coleman did not disclose the affair to anyone but her family. Bar rules don’t require it, but we believe that Coleman should have revealed the affair to the judge and opposing counsel. She did not discuss it during an interview with the judicial nominating commission when Coleman sought appointment to the bench.
Failing to disclose “was not a violation per se,” Coleman told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. Her understanding now, though, is that she should have terminated her representation of that client. He revealed the affair to a rival campaign, undercutting Coleman’s claim that she and the ex-client had “put it behind them.”
Though Coleman claims to have been “open and honest,” she hasn’t been. We can understand the difficulty Coleman faced. Disclosure then, however, would have made the affair a minor issue now, at most. Given the responsibility judges have to disclose any potential conflict, going public actually would have made her look good.
As Coleman noted, she retains support from some judges and attorneys. “I have the qualifications to be a great judge.”
Still, we recommend that voters choose Maxine Cheesman, who also is a lawyer with her own practice. She came to the law late, after spending 27 years as a researcher, almost half of that time with the South Florida Water Management District.
Cheesman has handled many types of cases, from real estate to probate to contracts. She ran unsuccessfully in 2014. The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County honored Cheesman in 2012 for her pro bono work.
In the Group 13 race, voters should choose Alcolya St. Juste, yet another attorney in solo practice. St. Juste has more experience than her opponent, Scott Kerner, but she is battling political headwinds.
Kerner is the brother of Palm Beach County Commission Dave Kerner. Among Scott Kerner’s contributions is $200 from Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, a political ally of Dave Kerner.
Those connections likely explain why Scott Kerner – with only 10 years of undistinguished practice on his record – has been able to raise $111,000. His donors include lawyers from prominent personal injury firms who often get involved in circuit court races but might not otherwise have backed a candidate whose qualifications at this point at best support a run for county court.
Kerner never has applied to the judicial nominating commission. St. Juste has applied twice and been chosen once as a finalist. That recommendation, which came after the usual thorough commission vetting, underscores that St. Juste is more qualified than Kerner.
Group 25 remains the hardest choice of the three races. As in the primary, though, Michael McAuliffe is the more qualified candidate.
McAuliffe served as Palm Beach County’s state attorney from 2008 until 2012. He left before his term expired to be general counsel for West Palm Beach-based Oxbow Petroleum.
As state attorney, McAuliffe empanelled the grand jury that issued key recommendations on public corruption after five county politicians had pleaded guilty to misusing their offices. Under McAuliffe, the office targeted prescription painkiller “pill mills” – who helped to create the opioid crisis – and gangs.
McAuliffe’s partner on combating opioids and violent crime was Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. He has endorsed McAuliffe.
Previously, McAuliffe served as a federal prosecutor, specializing at one point in hate crimes. McAuliffe also has spent roughly a decade in civil practice, thus giving him a background in almost every type of case that might come before him.
Sarah Willis, McAuliffe’s opponent, also has strong qualifications. She was a county and state prosecutor. Since 2014, Willis has been a magistrate, a quasi-judicial post that handles follow-up matters from the circuit court, mostly in family law cases.
We wish that McAuliffe had stayed in the Group 13 race. Of the nine candidates who ran for circuit court, he and Willis are the best. But McAuliffe is better in this race, and voters can choose only one candidate.
For Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the Sun Sentinel recommends Alcolya St. Juste in Group 13, Maxine Cheesman in Group 18 and Michael McAuliffe in Group 25.