State: Judicial board raises false allegations

TALLAHASSEE -- Jacksonville lawyer Scott D. Makar, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm, expected questions when he appeared last week before a Judicial Nominating Commission that was selecting candidates for the 1st District Court of Appeal.

But Makar didn't expect to be falsely accused of having a sexually transmitted disease, refusing to be tested for the disease, falsifying financial records and making a $250,000 payoff to his former wife.

All of those accusations, raised during a bitter 1998 divorce in Jacksonville, were laid to rest in the same court file where they were originally raised.

But the commission raised the allegations anyway.

"Allegations made in a divorce are oftentimes false," Makar said in a nine-page letter expressing his outrage.

"Frankly I was stunned (if not visibly dazed) by the interrogation into such highly personal matters without notice or a fair opportunity to respond," Makar wrote.

He sent the letter to the commission Monday, hours before its members had a secret conference call to discuss the situation.

After its meeting a week ago, the commission submitted a list of eight candidates to Gov. Jeb Bush for the selection of two judges for the court which hears appeals in North Florida. Makar's name was not on the list.

Lawyer Chris Martinez, chairman of the nominating commission, said the documents from Makar's divorce file were obtained and distributed to the commission by Elizabeth White, a Jacksonville lawyer who serves on the commission. White did not return a reporter's telephone call.

"I encouraged members of the commission who had concerns about candidates to air them during the interview," Martinez said. "This is due to the fact that applicants sometimes complained because issues were aired during the deliberative process, which is closed."

Martinez said no notice was given to Makar and the commission did "not necessarily" know that other documents in the court file would have refuted those that were distributed.

Asked if she felt the questions were a little too invasive, Martinez paused for a long time and then said "no comment."

Asked why it would matter if any judicial candidate had a sexually transmitted disease, Martinez said she thought it was a concern "of moral character" that could be raised, "as distasteful as it might be."

Martinez said she could not discuss the conference the JNC held to discuss the matter Monday because it was deliberative. She said the commission will not add a name to the list submitted to Bush.

One of Makar's law partners and longtime friends is Martha Barnett, the president of the American Bar Association. Calling the questions outrageous, she described Makar as "the finest example of a lawyer in Holland & Knight."

"Scott is one of the smartest and has the most integrity," Barnett said. "He has a humanness about him that would be wonderful on the bench."

Makar not only does not have a sexually transmitted disease, he underwent a medical test to prove it. He placed a medical report in the divorce file to prove it.

Makar said in the letter that he never sought to get the personal information in the file sealed because "I had nothing to hide."

Makar said the court file also includes ample proof that he did not file false financial information and that he and his wife divided their assets after a full and accurate disclosure of income and assets. His wife took a credit union account valued at about $265,000 and he took assets valued at a similar amount. All of the details are included in a settlement agreement included in the court file.

Makar said he and his former wife have both remarried and practice law in Jacksonville. Earlier this year Makar was selected by the governor to serve on a special commission examining the death penalty in Florida. He also teaches media law and ethics at the University of North Florida.

In attempting to determine where the erroneous information came from, Makar said he discovered that someone acquired selected documents from the public court file. He said the clerk's office advised him that only 46 pages of the 356-page file were copied by someone on Sept. 14, shortly before his interview.

On Friday, three days after he objected to the ambush interview, someone returned to the courthouse and purchased the remaining documents in the court file.

Makar refused to discuss the situation when contacted by the Times. Barnett said Makardidn't want to talk about it until the commission decides what to do.

The situation is likely to spark more controversy for a proposed constitutional amendment that would shift all of the state's judicial appointments to a merit selection process like the one now used to select appellate court judges.

Voters will get to decide the question on Nov. 7.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk