Lawyer barred from jail when inmate files restraining order

By STEPHEN NOHLGREN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 6, 1999

LARGO -- Talk about your basic restraining order run amok.

An inmate at the Pinellas County Jail recently secured a temporary restraining order against his public defender, claiming that the lawyer had beaten and sexually assaulted him right in his cell and had paid another inmate to kill him.

For a few maddening hours, assistant public defender Bruce Johnson legally was forbidden from coming within 500 feet of the jail -- where he had 35 to 40 other clients to serve. Though no one put a tape measure to it, the lawyer may have violated the 500-foot restriction just by working in his own office, which sits within hailing distance of the jail.

"This illustrates a legal loophole that's got to be closed," said Circuit Judge David Seth Walker, who signed the temporary restraining order.

When someone asks for protection against domestic violence or other types of violence, the judge must assume that the allegations on the petition are true, Walker said. If the allegations are serious enough to merit protection, the judge must issue a temporary injunction.

"I knew by signing it, I was going to cause problems," Walker said. "I didn't (believe) the allegations for a instant. But I was between a rock and a hard place. I did what I had to do."

In this case, the court system reacted quickly after Johnson was served with the temporary injunction. Within a few hours, Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird held an emergency hearing at the criminal complex, where Johnson denied the charges.

Testimony revealed that inmate Roderick L. Clark had an extensive history of battling his jailers and lawyers with a barrage of lawsuits, Bar complaints and unsubstantiated allegations of criminal misconduct.

Baird dismissed the injunction and, at the request of the Public Defender's Office, ordered Clark to pay court costs out of his $16 jail commissary account.

Nevertheless, the incident has left law enforcement and court officials pondering unpleasant possibilities.

What if inmates accuse all their jailers of violence? Could they temporarily force all guards to leave the jail? What if patients in a mental hospital file simultaneous petitions against the entire hospital staff?

"An inmate could go get an injunction against the judge who is about to sentence him, keeping him 500 feet away," said Public Defender Robert Dillinger.

Clark could not be reached for comment.

He is awaiting trial on charges of aggravated stalking, making false 911 calls and violating probation on a previous arson charge.

Court records show that the 29-year-old Clearwater resident understands the nuances of restraining orders. Since 1992, he has been served with three restraining orders by two women. One was a domestic violence order, designed for restraining family members. Two were "repeat violence" orders, designed for restraining non-family members.

During numerous journeys through the criminal court system, Clark has often been represented by assistant public defenders and often asks the judge to boot them off his case. Such motions are common. Streetwise defendants often complain about public defenders and hope the court will appoint them a private lawyer, who gets paid from county taxes.

Clark "causes problems every time," Dillinger said. "He just starts making accusations."

Since his most recent arrest last November, Clark has escalated his complaints to new heights:

He filed Bar grievances against two public defenders. Some already have been tossed out by the Bar; more recent ones are pending.

He sued Johnson in federal court.

He accused Johnson of bringing pornography and drugs into his cell, though jail officials said they couldn't find any.

He accused a jail guard of giving him free cocaine and then demanding payment. Clark said one of his relatives working in the jail saw the transaction but refused to name the relative, jail administrator Lt. Charles Jacobs said.

He accused Johnson of hiring a hit man. A fellow inmate "came out of nowhere and pulled out a homemade jail knife and tried to stab me repeatedly. Luckily the jail staff broke it up," Clark wrote. Jacobs said no such assault occurred.

He sued Johnson and Dillinger, claiming Johnson took $5,000 to represent him and wouldn't give it back. He sued Sheriff Everett Rice and a jail guard, claiming that jailers took away or tore up his possessions. Those suits are pending.

"I get five to 10 documents a week from him," Jacobs said. "They are always threatening in nature, or demanding. They say, "Jacobs, I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you to do this.' "

On June 17, the Pinellas County Clerk of Court's Office received mail from Clark. It was a petition for a temporary injunction against repeat violence against Johnson, whom Clark identified as his lawyer from the public defender's office. Clark wrote that he was in fear of immediate death and listed his address as 14400 49th St. N -- the jail.

In the petition, Clark alleges that Johnson made sexual advances during private meetings in a holding cell. Johnson, who has worked as a public defender for 11 years, is 54 years old, 5 feet 7 and 160 pounds. Clark, who is 6-1 and 175 pounds, wrote that Johnson, "has gotten verbally and physically violent with me."

After he filed Bar complaints against Johnson, Clark wrote, Johnson said "when I get out of jail ... he would personally find me and blow my brains out with the gun he claims he carries."

With 28 years on the bench, Walker is the most senior circuit judge in the state of Florida. He recently served in the criminal division and knew Johnson personally.

"I've never seen or heard anything unprofessional about this public defender," Walker said. But he had to treat the petition as if Johnson were a stranger.

So Walker granted the temporary injunction with standard paperwork that called for a full hearing in two weeks so Johnson could get a chance to respond.

It didn't take that long.

After 11/2 hours of testimony and argument, Judge Baird dismissed the injunction and Johnson was, once again, free to visit his clients in the jail.

Later that day, Clark filed a federal civil rights complaint against Dillinger, Johnson, assistant public defender Scott McClusky and Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe. Dillinger's copy of the notice contained a hand-written message from Clark: "I got many more I'm gonna file against you and your office for violating my rights."

A few weeks ago, the public defender's office did withdraw from Clark's case, and a private, taxpayer-financed lawyer was appointed.

"Abuse is part of this job, and we can take it," Dillinger said. "But you can cross the line, and this was crossing the line."

Meanwhile, Jacobs said he has heard through the jail grapevine that Clark is threatening to take out restraining orders against jail employees.

A week ago Thursday, court records show, Clark asked the clerk's office for three more blank petition forms.

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