Originally Posted - June 30, 2006

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PINELLAS COUNTY---Pornography and sexual perversion seems to have invaded the courtroom.

In Oklahoma, a district court judge is headed to prison after being convicted of four felony counts of indecent exposure for masturbating on the bench during trials.

In Florida, the Florida Supreme Court has approved a stipulation involving Sixth Judicial Court Judge Brandt Downey III after the judge admitted to viewing pornographic Internet website from the computer in his judicial chambers.

Although piqued that the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission had dismissed several allegations involving Downey's alleged sexual harassment of female attorneys, rather than immediately removing Downey from the bench they agreed to allow him to retain his position until the end of his term on Jan. 1, 2007, at which time he will retire. He may not serve as a senior judge and has agreed not to seek appointment or election as a judge.
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/05/05-2228/Filed_05-26-2006_Stipulation.pdf

In December, the commission had filed formal charges against Downey who serves Pinellas and Pasco Counties, containing three counts of misconduct. In addition to charging that Downey was engaged in habitual viewing of pornography from the courthouse computer, the panel also charged Downey with failing to disclose a written juror communication and improper conduct and communication with female attorneys.

Downey admitted to only the pornography charge. He said that his actions "caused computer viruses to infect my computer and unwittingly exposed courthouse personnel to pornographic images".
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/05/05-2228/Filed_05-26-2006_Stipulation.pdf

He denied that he had acted improperly with a female prosecutor and also denied that he had failed to disclose the juror's note.

In addressing the Supreme Court Thursday, Downey admitted that his conduct towards the women had been inappropriate. He admitted that he was trying to get to know one of the female attorneys better on a social level but admitted it was inappropriate in that she had cases pending in his court. He also told the court that the charges had caused him much embarrassment and financial consequences.

Downey, 61, issued an apology to the public, his fellow judges and the legal community for his "actions and resulting harm". He said that his actions had harmed the "public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary".

His access to email and the Internet at the Courthouse will continue to be restricted until his retirement and he must continue his counseling until he is released by his counselor. Downey must also appear before the Florida Supreme Court on Sept. 22 to receive a public reprimand.

He was elected to a county judgeship in 1984 and then became a circuit court judge, sitting on the bench for 17 years.

Downey came under fire in 2005, accused of using the computers in the Clearwater Courthouse to surf pornography on the Internet and charges of sexual harassment.

Downey took a mysterious two week leave of absence last spring. According to Circuit Court Judge Dee Anna Farrell, administrative criminal judge, she and Sixth Circuit Court chief judge David Demers met with Downey last April and questioned him about sexual harassment allegations and the porn issue. Although Downey was to preside at a robbery trial about to begin, he left the courthouse immediately after the meeting and Farnell handled the trial.

In a statement issued shortly thereafter, Demers said Downey's leave was due to "some significant family and personal problems" and refused to comment why Downey took the leave, saying he couldn't due to ethical considerations.

Downey returned to work last May 9.

Technicians fixing Downey's court computer last spring discovered the computer had picked up viruses from pornographic websites.

The JQC formal complaint field against him in December said that" Beginning on or about the year 2002, and continuing through 2005, you engaged in the practice of viewing pornographic Internet websites from the computer in your chambers. Your pervasive practice of viewing pornography from the computer in your chambers resulted in frequent computer viruses infecting your computer. Courthouse anti-virus software quarantined the viruses on your computer which in turn, had to be removed by technology staff members either from a remote location or in person by reporting to your office to remove the viruses from your computer".

The commission said that as a result, on at least two occasions, courthouse personnel were unwittingly exposed to pornographic images when they reported to Downey's office to physically remove viruses from his computer. In addition, on at least one known occasion, Downey's judicial assistant was also exposed to a pornographic website image while present in Downey's office during a computer repair service call.

Downey said in his response that he felt the matter had been sufficiently addressed between him and Chief Judge David Demers by an agreement made last year. In that agreement, Downey agreed to take a leave from his judicial duties and be evaluated by a licensed psychologist because Demers had expressed concerns that Downey's actions could possibly indicate addictive behavior that needed treatment. The medical professional he consulted said he was not so addicted.

State Attorney Bernie McCabe claimed to reviewed the case and determined that Downey's "actions did not constitute a crime". However, a trial had been scheduled by the judicial qualifications commission regarding the charges.

In regard to the second count of the three count JQC complaint against Downey which alleged improper contact and communication with female attorneys, Downey produced sworn statements from the two women that he was accused of harassing. Both say in their statements, made last August, they have no complaints against him.

According to the JQC complaint, Downey had allegedly sent one attorney an email termed sexually suggestive and frequently complimented the other attorney on her appearance and hugged her.

Downey also disputed the third charge of the complaint which alleged that he failed to disclose a juror written communication in the murder case of Woodrow Wilson. The juror's note allegedly reported that another juror was sleeping during Wilson's murder trial last year. 6-30-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette