The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Broward Judge Dennis D. Bailey on June 5 for losing his temper with two defense attorneys in a a felony criminal trial. Photo: Florida Supreme Court live feed.

The Florida Supreme Court chastised Broward Circuit Judge Dennis D. Bailey Wednesday morning for mistreating two attorneys in a felony criminal trial.

Chief Justice Charles T. Canady called it a “lapse” as he reprimanded Bailey for violating five canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

“We all recognize that this is a sad day for you,” Canady began. “It is also a sad day for us and for the entire state judiciary.”

Canady told Bailey the court takes its reprimands very seriously as “they send a message to all Florida judges that we will not wink at misconduct.” He added that the court understands how stressful it can be to manage “the give and take of an adversarial courtroom” but implored Bailey to exercise self control.

“Few things are more corrosive of public respect for the judiciary than the conduct of judges who do not exercise self control but intemperately abuse lawyers and litigants,” Canady said.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission brought ethics charges against Bailey in December 2018, accusing him of being intemperate with Fort Lauderdale public defenders Gustavo Javier Martinez and James Allen Foretich when presiding over State v. Genesis Espejo.

The JQC's investigative panel found Bailey got frustrated with the lawyers as they tried to argue the same objection in a sidebar conference.

“When one of the attorneys tried to help his colleague articulate a point during the sidebar, Judge Bailey repeatedly attempted to quiet him by saying, 'One lawyer at a time,' 'Only one lawyer argues,' followed shortly thereafter by, 'You have a hard time understanding me? Two lawyers can't argue one argument,' ” JQC Chair Krista Marx wrote in her findings.

Bailey later described the conversation as “white noise” to investigators, who found the judge inappropriately tried to have one lawyer physically removed before the jury and wrongly denied a motion for disqualification. According to the high court justices, there was no standing order that only one attorney per side could argue a point.

Bailey agreed to a public reprimand in a December 2018 stipulation, which said he's undergoing stress management courses, “so that in the future he is better equipped to handle stressful situations, and does not resort to knee-jerk reactions.”

After the reprimand, Bailey thanked the judges and left the courtroom.

Bailey's lawyer, Michael E. Dutko of Dutko & Kroll in Fort Lauderdale, said Bailey has accepted responsibility for his actions.

“[Bailey] has anxiously awaited receiving this public reprimand before the Florida Supreme Court, and now looks forward to moving ahead and being the best judge he can be, and continuing to serve the citizens of Broward County with honor and integrity. “

Click here to watch the video

Related stories:

Broward Judge in Hot Seat Over Alleged Mistreatment of Attorneys

Miami-Dade Judge Accepts 90-Day Suspension After 3rd Sanction Proposal