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PINELLAS COUNTY, FL--Chief Justice David Demers of Florida's Sixth Judicial Circuit Court has vacated his order assigning Judge Robert Beach to the indirect criminal contempt case of Tampa attorney Mark A. Adams.
But, the action was rather immaterial as Demers then requested Chief Justice Barbara Pariente of the Florida Supreme Court to assign Beach to the case, a request which she readily enacted despite Adam's protests.
After learning of Demers' letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court requesting her to appoint Beach, Adams told Pariente he believed there had been "improprieties" in his case and asked her to appoint a judge outside the jurisdiction of the Second District Court to hear the pending criminal contempt case pending against him.
Adams also asked Pariente on Wednesday, Oct. 5 to initiate an investigation of the "officers of our courts who were involved with….violations by the Judicial Qualifications Commission and the Florida Bar in order to help preserve the integrity of our judiciary".
Judge Pariente has not yet responded to Adams' requests.
Pariente signed her order appointing Beach to Adams' case on Oct. 3, the same day that Demers' order was transmitted to her. Adams and his attorney have asked Judge Pariente to reconsider her assignment due to the alleged bias and conflicts involving Beach.
The road leading to Adams being charged with criminal contempt, facing six months in jail and possible disbarment, has a circuitous and convoluted route.
When Adams began representing clients in a civil matter in 2001 involving advertising commissions and a non-compete clause, the defendant hired the Florida law firm of Battaglia, Ross, Dicus and Wein of St. Petersburg firm headed by Anthony Battaglia, former chief assistant U.S. attorney, former member of the Republican National Committee for Florida and former member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Sixth Judicial Circuit.
Shortly thereafter, Chris King, the defendant in the action and president of the sports marketing firm, Corporate Sports Marketing Group (CSM) of Clearwater, Fla., began boasting that his attorneys, the Battaglia firm, were connected and that "they were going to bury" Adams' client, according to Adams.
Timothy Weber of the Battaglia firm represents CSM and is the complainant against Adams in matters leading to the contempt charges which were lodged by Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Crockett Farnell.
Adams says that due to "connections" that he alleges Weber and the Battaglia firm have with members of the local judiciary without regard for the rule of law, Adams says he doesn't believe he can get a fair and impartial trial on the contempt charges in Pinellas County or in any circuit within the Second District Court's jurisdiction.
Adams says that Weber and other members or employees of the Battaglia law firm had allegedly boasted that they could influence Farnell in the case and the ensuing decisions rendered by Farnell would seem to lend credence to that assertion.
After Farnell awarded $20,000 in sanctions against Adams in 2003, the Battaglia firm attempted to collect the $20,000 judgment and sought to depose Adams but Adams says he wasn't properly served. Weber says otherwise and says that Adams failed to appear for three scheduled hearings during the fall of 2003 and ultimately asked Farnell to cite Adams for contempt. Farnell issued a warrant for Adams' arrest in January, 2004.
On Dec. 20, 2004, Judge Crockett Farnell entered an order disqualifying himself as judge in the case although he had repeatedly refused to do so previously. However, Adams says it appears that Judge Farnell chose to disqualify himself this time because he had learned that Bay News 9 had shown an interest in covering the contempt trial.
After Farnell entered orders disqualifying himself in both of the cases, they were randomly reassigned by the clerk. On Jan. 25, 2005, Judge Demers issued an order reassigning the Adams' cases to Judge Robert Beach. Judge Beach is a former Chief Judge of the 6th Circuit.
Adams notes that Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.050(b)(2) states, "The chief judge may enter and sign administrative orders, except as otherwise provided by this rule." Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.050(b)(4) states, "If a judge is temporarily absent, is disqualified in an action, or is unable to perform the duties of the office, the chief judge or the chief judge's designee may assign a proceeding pending before the judge to any other judge or any additional assigned judge of the same court."
Adams says that Judge Demers exceeded his grant of power when he took these cases away from the assigned judges as Judge Bruce Boyer had not disqualified himself nor had Judge Case nor were they temporarily absent or unable to perform their duties.
Also, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.840(e) which governs procedure for charges of indirect criminal contempt provides that when a judge is disqualified, a new judge should be selected by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Therefore, Adams argued that Judge Demers should have asked the Chief Justice to assign a new judge to hear the baseless indirect criminal contempt charge brought against him by Judge Farnell after Adams moved to vacate the orders that he entered sanctioning him without jurisdiction and without any basis in fact or law.
"Unfortunately, Judge Beach has shown that he is willing to ignore the law to rule in favor of the Battaglia firm", Adams says. "For example, Judge Beach dismissed my case against the Battaglia firm and its client, Chris King, even though I had shown that Chris King repeated slanderous statements about me which he attributed to the Battaglia firm to a person at a party in Miami who knew my former client, Jeff Smith. Judge Beach ruled that these and other slanderous statements which were made out of court and were not relevant to Smith's case against Chris King were protected by the absolute litigation privilege".
"However, the absolute litigation privilege does not extend to statements that are made out of court or to ones which are not relevant to the case", Adams says.
"After I moved to vacate the orders that Judge Demers entered assigning my cases to Judge Beach, Judge Demers denied my motions without a hearing although due process requires an opportunity to be heard. I have been trying to have hearings videotaped whenever possible, and I think that Judge Demers did not want to be on camera when being faced with my motions to vacate his improper orders reassigning my cases to Judge Beach". June Maxam 10-09-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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