Broward judge agrees to reprimand for berating lawyer
Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey berated a defense lawyer during a criminal trial in front of the jury, ordering a court deputy to move the lawyer to his seat, then refusing to grant a mistrial when the attorney complained.
Bailey, who was first elected in 2014, acknowledged his misconduct to the Judicial Qualifications Commission and agreed to be reprimanded before the Florida Supreme Court.
The commission, which polices ethical misconduct by judges, focused its inquiry on the trial of Genesis Espejo, 31, who was accused of battery on a law enforcement officer.
Espejo was approached by a Hollywood police officer last
year, drunk on her back and claiming to make “snow angels” in the grass, according to a police report. Her attorneys at her trial in April were Assistant Public Defenders Gustavo Martinez and James Allen Foretich.
During Espejo’s trial, Bailey had called attorneys to the bench for a “sidebar,” a routine private discussion that is on the record but should not be heard by the jury. During sidebars, attorneys discuss issues with the judge, and typically only one attorney on each side is permitted to speak on a given issue.
But in Espejo’s case, both defense lawyers addressed the judge. Bailey was not pleased. “One lawyer at a time,” the judge said. “You have a hard time understanding me? Two lawyers can't argue one argument.”
According to the JQC’s account, Bailey then ordered a court deputy to return one of the lawyers to the defense table. Whether the jury heard Bailey’s order or not, the deputy did, and approached the attorney, who walked back to his seat in the courtroom.
Bailey later admitted to the JQC that he would have allowed the deputy to use physical force “if necessary.”
The judge later invited the defense lawyers to ask for a mistrial, only to turn them down when they did.
Espejo was acquitted, but the JQC questioned whether the judge’s conduct affected the outcome of the case.
“Judge Bailey points to the fact that the jury found the defendant not guilty as evidence that the jury was not tainted by his mistreatment of the defense attorney,” according to the JQC findings. “However, this ignores the fact that the jury could have returned a not guilty verdict precisely because they felt sympathy for the defendant because the judge appeared to favor one side over the other.
“An outcome such as this casts a shadow on the trialby-jury system.”
The JQC is recommending a reprimand for Bailey’s admitted misconduct. The Florida Supreme Court has final say over whether to accept that penalty or opt for another punishment.
Bailey is now presiding over the retrial of Pablo Ibar, who is accused of a 1994 triple murder for which he had once been convicted and sentenced to death.