Miami-Dade Judge Carroll Kelly. Photo: Miami-Dade Circuit Court.Miami-Dade Judge Who Took Part in a Reality TV Show Is Now Facing Ethics Charges
The Judicial Qualifications Commission accused the judge of lending the prestige of her judicial office to advance private interests.
May 06, 2020 at 04:44 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Daily Business Review
When Miami-Dade County Court Judge Carroll Kelly welcomed television producers into her courtroom to film a reality show, it didn't make a good impression on the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which has accused her of giving participants "minimal notice" and misleading her superiors about the filming.
The show, "Protection Court," featured real-life litigants from the court's domestic violence division. But in ethics charges filed Wednesday, the JQC alleged Kelly's participation amounted to six violations of the rules governing judicial ethics.
"In doing so, you lent the prestige of your judicial office to advance the private interests of yourself and others," the charges said.
The JQC alleges Kelly didn't give litigants enough time to consider signing an appearance release, and claims some litigants were filmed without their consent.
The release required litigants to waive any liabilities, claims or demands against the producers over anything revealed in the show, including defamatory, disparaging or embarrassing information, according to the charging document.
The JQC also alleges Kelly misled Miami-Dade Circuit Chief Judge Bertila Soto about her involvement in the show to obtain consent, claiming she had secured assurances that there would be no violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The judge is also accused of lying to an investigative panel about having the power to stop the show's production.
"Specifically, you informed the investigative panel that you had 'final approval of anything' and 'editorial influence and control' over Protection Court," the JQC's charging document said.
Kelly's attorney, David Rothman of Rothman & Associates in Miami , did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kelly has 20 days to respond to the charges.
Kelly was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. She rose to the county court bench in 1998 and has no disciplinary history, according to her Florida Bar profile.
Read the full charges:
Read more:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Contract Software Unicorn Ironclad Hires Former Pinterest Lawyer as GC
2 minute read
Florida-Based Law Firms Start to Lag, As New York Takes a Bigger Piece of Deals
3 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
