Judge's wooden gavel with USA flag in the background. Photo: Judge's wooden gavel with USA flag in the background. Photo: Marian Weyo/Shutterstock.

Unwelcome or inappropriate sexual remarks or advances in the workplace are not a common problem within Florida's judiciary — or, at least, that's what a survey of all judicial misconduct cases since 2000 would suggest.

Despite calls for more protections from sexual harassment within the federal judiciary, and although some state judiciaries have reported shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle sexual harassment claims in recent years, Florida doesn't have comparable statistics.

The Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Risk Management and the Florida House Judiciary Committee all said they have no records of financial settlements related to misconduct allegations against judges or nonlawyer judicial staff.

Meanwhile, New Jersey has quietly paid more than $900,000 to settle claims against court employees since 2014, and California has paid $645,000 to settle sexual harassment and gender discrimination claims since 2012, according to data recovered from public records requests.

Of the 100 judicial misconduct cases that have ended in punishment or dismissal in Florida since 2000, only two have involved allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. A third involved an allegation of sexual harassment of a member of the public after an out-of-town judicial conference, according to the JQC's online case archives.

Two of those judges resigned, and the charges were dismissed before any discipline could be levied, while the other received a reprimand. None of these incidents happened in the last 10 years.

Former Palm Beach Circuit Judge Howard C. Berman was accused of sexually harassing female staff while on the bench in 2002. The JQC's charges included allegations that the jurist repeatedly asked the staff members for sex, made sexually suggestive comments and threatened them with retaliation if they went to the JQC. Berman resigned, and the case was dismissed before the claims could be proven or disproven.

Former Orange Circuit Judge James C. Hauser faced allegations in 2007 that he made inappropriate and unwanted sexual advances toward a student in a class he co-taught. Hauser resigned and the case was dismissed.

Former Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Charles W. Cope was accused in 2002 of making drunken sexual advances toward a woman after a judicial conference in California. He allegedly "prowled" the hotel, stole a key to her hotel room and was put under citizen's arrest.

Cope was reprimanded and later sought $300,000 in costs, arguing the JQC sided with him on all charges he contested due to insufficient evidence after he had admitted to two charges. The Florida Supreme Court denied his request for attorney fees.

There are also some gray areas.

Former Orange County Judge Alan C. Todd was hit with JQC charges in a case that wasn't labeled sexual harassment, but involved allegations that he "continuously engaged in a pattern of making rude, intemperate and demeaning comments" toward courthouse personnel in 2007. Todd allegedly chastised an unwed mother for having sex before marriage and made an inappropriate comment to a sheriff's deputy, including, "What do you do as lesbians?"

The JQC recommended that Todd receive a public reprimand and a $10,000 fine, but the case was dismissed when the judge stepped down.

Former Clearwater Circuit Judge Brandt Downey III was accused of habitual porn watching in his chambers in 2005, reportedly leading to various viruses on his computer and unwitting exposure of the videos to court staff. Downey was reprimanded over the allegations.

But all told, Florida's data suggests there are either very few incidents of sexual harassment within the judiciary, or that many aren't reporting it.

What's the process for reporting judicial sexual harassment?

The JQC is an independent investigative agency and has jurisdiction over reports made against Florida state judges, who are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct.

The Florida Supreme Court and its chief judge don't have the authority to investigate allegations of misconduct. It updated its sexual harassment policy in 2018, which says any court employee or judge can submit complaints in writing or orally to the chief judge or their designated officer; a court administrator, human resource manager or marshal; or the chief of human resources at the Office of the State Courts Administrator. Student interns can also use these outlets, but are encouraged to also report sexual harassment allegations to their school.

The policy defines sexual misconduct as, "any behavior of a sexual nature that is committed without consent or by force, intimidation, coercion, or manipulation," and says it can occur between strangers, acquaintances and couples. It says investigators have an "open-door policy" and treat all sexual harassment allegations seriously and promptly, and that "anyone in contact with the state courts system should feel empowered to bring any such inappropriate activity to the attention of all proper authorities, including and especially the Florida Supreme Court."

The complaint must be made within 90 days of the alleged sexual harassment, which the policy says is to ensure there's no risk of precluding the filing of state or federal discrimination charges. Complainants will be interviewed within five days of making their report.

If the chief justice or designated investigator finds the complaint is unfounded or doesn't rise to the level of sexual harassment, they can decline to act. Otherwise, an officer is appointed to investigate. After reviewing relevant documents and interviewing everyone involved, the investigating officer submits a report to the chief justice or designated officer within 30 days.

If the chief justice is the subject of the complaint, reports should go to the Supreme Court's inspector general, who'll take it to the second most senior justice.

After assigning a docket number, the JQC's investigative panel determine whether the allegations violate the judicial cannons. If so, the judge receives a notice of investigation or required appearance and will answer questions before the panel, which then decides whether to bring formal proceedings. If so, it might reach a stipulation with the judge about discipline or send the case to a JQC hearing panel for a formal evidentiary hearing. That panel then issues a finding of fact and recommends discipline, which the Florida Supreme Court can accept or reject.

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