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Was judge asked to leave?

A Pinellas judge who hastily left his courtroom more than two weeks ago has returned to work, but the people who pay his salary aren't really being told why.

When veteran Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Brandt Downey left just as a trial was set to begin on April 26, the circuit's chief judge, David Demers, issued only a brief written statement by way of explanation. Demers wrote that Downey was taking leave to deal with "some significant family and personal problems."

Unfortunately, there may be more at play. Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell, the administrative criminal judge who met with Demers and Downey on the day the judge left, said Wednesday that two other matters were discussed. One was an accusation of sexual harassment and the other was an accusation that Downey had used his courthouse computer to access pornographic Internet sites. "I think it was suggested that he needed some time off," Farnell said, referring other questions to Demers.

Demers responded Wednesday with a second statement: "I am ethically precluded from saying anything more than I have already said. If this changes, I will be happy to talk with you."

Maybe the reference to ethical boundaries is intended to imply that Downey is now under formal judicial investigation, but such inference is nothing more than speculation. Neither Downey nor Demers is talking, which leaves the public to wonder and the courthouse rife with rumors. To those who watched as Demers and previous Chief Judge Susan Schaeffer once tried to conceal the antics of former Circuit Judge Charles Cope, this has an all-too-familiar feel.

Judges are certainly entitled to a zone of privacy concerning their personal affairs, but if Downey was forced to leave for any job-related issues then the public deserves to know. If there are allegations of sexual harassment, women who appear before the judge have a right to know. If there are allegations involving pornography, then prosecutors who pursue obscenity cases have a right to know.

Downey is a criminal judge with the power to order people put to death, and his work activities are not private business. If Downey was asked to take leave, then Demers needs to explain why.

[Last modified May 12, 2005, 00:30:14]