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Judge Holder aims for spot on federal bench

Cleared of plagiarism charges by a judicial review board, he seeks a seat in federal court in Jacksonville.

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published January 5, 2006

TAMPA - Last year, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder was facing the possibility of being booted from the bench. This year, he's looking for a new, higher profile judgeship.

Six months after the state's Judicial Qualifications Commission cleared him of plagiarism charges, Holder, 52, has applied to be a Florida federal district judge. A 10-year veteran of state court, Holder is one of 25 candidates being considered for a slot in the Middle District of Florida.

Reached at his office Wednesday, Holder declined to comment.

Florida Judicial Nominating Commission chairman Micky Grindstaff confirmed, however, that Holder's application was one of several received last month. The appointee would replace retiring Jacksonville federal Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger but would initially be assigned to work in federal court in Fort Myers, Grindstaff said.

"This is a very strong pool of applicants. We have a number of state court judges and we have half a dozen or more federal magistrates. There are several folks with lengthy federal experience," Grindstaff said. If nominated, Holder would not be the first Hillsborough judge to make the leap to the federal judgeship. Several former state circuit judges now work in Tampa's federal courts, including U.S. District Judges Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, Richard Lazzara, James D. Whittemore and James Moody Jr.

But applying for a federal judgeship is a rigorous process. In addition to providing letters of reference, work and educational history and several writing samples, applicants undergo a screening process of interviews and a detailed background check.

Not long ago, a background check might have proved a problem for Holder. Long known as a squeaky clean whistleblower, Holder recently faced allegations that he had plagiarized portions of a research paper by a fellow Air Force reservist. After a lengthy and expensive trial, the JQC cleared Holder of the plagiarism charges in June.

But the controversy didn't end there. A month after the charges were dismissed, Holder's attorneys filed a motion asking the JQC to pay his nearly $2-million legal bill. Although the JQC recommended paying about $140,000 in costs it balked at using public funds to pay all of Holder's legal fees. The Florida Supreme Court has yet to rule on who should pay.

Ironically, one of Holder's competitors for the federal post is JQC chairman James R. Wolf. A judge in the state's 1st DCA, Wolf has twice had a hand in JQC investigations into charges against Holder in recent years.

A select pool of candidates will be interviewed Jan. 25. Following that, committee members will send three or more names to Sen. Mel Martinez, who will review nominees with Sen. Bill Nelson.

After the bipartisan review, a name will be forwarded to President Bush for official nomination and confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grindstaff said a nominee's name could be forwarded to President Bush as early as spring.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 01:17:09]