Ex-judge loses fight against Fla. Bar, JQC

A federal appeals court Wednesday rejected a civil rights and racketeering lawsuit filed by a former Broward County circuit judge who was removed from office after an investigation by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Former Judge Laura Watson filed the lawsuit against officials of the Florida Bar and the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates judges and recommends disciplinary actions to the state Supreme Court. After such an investigation, the Supreme Court removed Watson from the bench in 2015.

The investigation dealt

with Watson’s actions while working as a private attorney and related to personal-injury protection insurance claims and allegations of “bad faith” by an insurance company. The JQC investigation centered on a settlement agreement and legal fees that were alleged to have benefited Watson, who represented health care providers. After the removal, Watson filed a federal lawsuit against Bar and JQC officials, according to Wednesday’s ruling.

But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said those officials were entitled to legal immunity in their roles. The Bar is an arm of the Supreme Court and plays a role in disciplinary issues, while the JQC has investigative and hearing panels.

“We hold that the hearings before the JQC are functionally similar to those before immigration judges, administrative law judges, and federal hearing examiners, all of which have been extended absolute judicial immunity,” said Wednesday’s ruling by appeals court judges Stanley Marcus, Robin Rosenbaum

and R. Lanier Anderson. “It is vital that the members of the JQC hearing panel be free from harassment or intimidation as they investigate sitting judges; safeguards exist to ensure that no member of the hearing panel is biased or prejudiced against the accused, the accused has the right to present evidence and issue subpoenas, and the Florida Supreme Court can choose to accept, reject, or modify the recommendations of the hearing panel.

“Similarly, we hold that the members of the JQC investigative panel are functionally similar to prosecutors when they present their case to the hearing panel.”