Judge faces showdown in courtroom

The Public Defender's Office wants Circuit Judge Lynn Tepper to recuse herself from all cases, citing a conflict with a defense attorney.

DADE CITY - Today promises to be interesting in Circuit Judge Lynn Tepper's courtroom.

As the judge takes on oversight of the felony criminal division at the courthouse in Dade City as part of an annual rotation among judges, Public Defender Bob Dillinger said his office stands ready to ask in case after case that the judge recuse herself, beginning today.

Last month, staff members from Dillinger's Dade City office requested that Tepper recuse herself from all cases handled by public defenders, citing differences Tepper has expressed between herself and newly hired public defender Steve Herman.

According to the motion filed by the Public Defender's Office, Herman's wife, Eileen, has been a close friend of Tepper's since the 1980s, and has since become a business associate. The Hermans separated this year, and a divorce is pending.

Tepper recused herself in August from hearing cases Herman was working on as a private attorney, and after Herman was hired by the Public Defender's Office in September, the judge recused herself from criminal cases he is assigned to in 2004.

Attorneys at the Public Defender's Office filed a motion asking Tepper to step aside from all dealings with any public defenders in Dade City. The motion claimed Tepper spoke to public defenders "in a manner and tone which called into question her ability to be fair and impartial in future dealings with the office."

Tepper rejected the recusal request - which would have removed most of the pending criminal cases from her courtroom - noting that defendants do not have a right to request a mass recusal.

Dillinger said his office now stands ready to begin requesting her recusal on a case-by-case basis beginning today, when Tepper is scheduled to oversee her first criminal calendar. He said his office would present the recusal requests on behalf of any client who requests one.

"If there is a factual basis set forth in the motion, then it should be granted," Dillinger said.

If the judge refuses to step aside, Dillinger said his office is prepared to present its arguments to an appeals panel.

With a caseload of more than 500 clients who cannot afford private attorneys, many of them with multiple counts pending, public defenders handle a majority of the court's criminal cases.

Assistant State Attorney Phil Van Allen, who oversees prosecutors in Dade City and the office responsible for scheduling daily court proceedings, said the uncertainty is causing problems for his office.

As a stopgap, prosecutors have scheduled cases assigned to Herman with County Judge Bob Cole, but the scheduling computer is not designed to assign felony cases to a county judge, so much of the work has to be done by hand or by makeshift methods, Van Allen said.

In addition, prosecutors are responsible for notifying victims and witnesses of hearings and coordinating trial appearances.

"We have to make sure we get everyone to the right courtroom, at the right time, in front of the right judge," Van Allen said.

Recusal demands could make things even more confusing, as a defendant's entire case progress could be halted while awaiting the judge's ruling, he said.

Tepper's office was closed last week for the holidays, but Tepper in the past has declined to comment on the issues, citing rules of judicial conduct.

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