Reprimand of judge is advised

The Judicial Qualifications Commission differs with a state grand jury.

By DAVID KARP

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 20, 2001

TAMPA -- The commission that regulates Florida judges recommended Wednesday that Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert Bonanno be publicly reprimanded for entering the darkened and locked chambers of another judge last year.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission, which could have recommended Bonanno's removal from the bench, characterized his actions as a "misstep" and concluded that nothing illegal or disgraceful had occurred.

"Judge Bonanno is guilty of a serious lapse in judgment," the report said.

The findings are vastly different from the damning conclusions a state grand jury reached last year. In a non-binding report, the grand jury called for Bonanno's immediate removal from office, saying he had demeaned the bench and lost the credibility needed to be a judge.

In contrast, the JQC backed up some of Bonanno's claims about what happened on July 27, 2000, when a bailiff found him in the chambers of Circuit Judge Gregory Holder.

The JQC did chastise Bonanno for going uninvited into Holder's office, saying Bonanno should have realized that Holder would take offense.

The JQC noted that Bonanno failed to immediately leave the empty office after being detected and failed to responded promptly to the bailiff who had discovered him. That "made the situation appear much worse than the evidence indicates," the JQC wrote.

In court documents, Bonanno offered "a profound apology" to Holder, the bailiff, the grand jury and the public. He acknowledged that his conduct "was far from the highest" required by judges.

The JQC's recommendation now goes to the Florida Supreme Court, which can accept or reject the punishment.

State Attorney Jerry Hill of Polk County, appointed by the governor to preside over the grand jury investigation, criticized the JQC. "They have absolutely failed to restore confidence from a public perspective in the judiciary," Hill said.

Bonanno's attorney, Ralph Fernandez, was jubilant about the outcome. "I am sitting here with great pleasure," he said by phone from his office.

Bonanno, who did not speak to reporters, was more guarded, Fernandez said. "He recognizes that in retrospect he would have done things differently," Fernandez said. "He does not deserve a medal."

On Wednesday, Holder said he would not contest the JQC's report. "I am prepared to accept this, our system of justice," he said.

Bonanno and Holder are not friends, and the bailiff considered Bonanno's presence in the office unusual. The bailiff said it appeared as though Bonanno was trying to conceal himself.

Bonanno claimed he had gone to Holder's office to give him a report, discuss a case and talk about courthouse tensions. It was 5:20 p.m. and the courthouse was nearly empty. Holder, suspected by other judges of leaking information about courthouse scandals to the press, was out of town on reserve military duty.

Holder confronted Bonanno when he returned to town. Unsatisfied with Bonanno's explanations, Holder asked for a criminal investigation and a JQC inquiry. He called Bonanno's intentions "nefarious."

From the beginning, Bonanno described the incident as a misunderstanding. He said Holder's door was open, and he denied trying to hide from the bailiff.

On some points, the JQC agreed. They said Bonanno responded to the bailiff after "two or three seconds." And while the JQC did not determine why Bonanno went into the office, it said it didn't want to discourage judges from visiting other judges to work out differences.

The grand jury, on the other hand, called Bonanno's explanations for entering Holder's office "incredible and conflicting." It suggested that he altered his story and said Bonanno was no longer fit to be a judge.

The JQC did not agree. The commission's report does not accuse Bonanno of lying.

Hill, who guided the grand jury, said the JQC's focus was "incredibly narrow."

"It's unfortunate that they don't look at the absence of public confidence and the absence of trust in this individual," Hill said. "It appears to me it will be up to the voters to rectify the situation."

Bonanno's term expires in 2002, and he has said he plans to run for re-election.

"This makes him as mortally wounded as he was before, no more, no less," political consultant Wayne Garcia said. "A reprimand is a reprimand."

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