![]() ![]() “It’s confusing language because it’s like they’ve already determined he’s guilty. “I guess I’m just a little confused as to what it says ‘has been guilty,’” the judge said. Izzo told the judge that he should move forward with an investigation into Uhlfelder’s conduct, saying the court has “jurisdiction to investigate any disciplinary actions or violations.”ĭuncan indicated at least some of the issues were perplexing. Ultimately, that’s my decision, or perhaps somebody else’s decision, because it may be after all the evidence is presented, I find there’s not a violation.”Īssistant State Attorney Anne N. I struggle with that because they’re not the ones that make this decision. “Let’s assume the DCA (district court of appeal) said he has been guilty. “But isn’t the whole point of this proceeding really to determine whether or not there was a violation?” the judge said. However, it is our position that when the rule is used, it must be followed,” Greenberg told Duncan during Monday’s one-hour hearing. “Although the rule has been around all these years, it is almost never used. Greenberg noted that the rule was crafted before The Florida Bar largely became responsible for conducting investigations into attorneys’ conduct, a process that has existed since the 1940s. Greenberg told Duncan that the appeals court’s order does not comply with the rule because Uhlfelder has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing. ![]() The seldom-used rule allows judges to direct state attorneys to file a motion seeking discipline if a lawyer “has been guilty of any unprofessional act” laid out in Florida Bar regulations. In the previous months, Uhlfelder appeared throughout Florida in the macabre Grim Reaper outfit to call attention to issues such as DeSantis’ refusal to close beaches amid the pandemic.ĭuring a hearing Monday, Uhlfelder’s lawyer, Richard Greenberg, urged Santa Rosa County Circuit Judge Scott Duncan to dismiss the case, arguing that the appeals court’s order for the possible sanctions fails to comply with a disciplinary rule cited by the three-judge panel. The panel made the rare move of ordering State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden to ask a judge to consider penalties for “putatively unprofessional conduct” after Uhlfelder made comments to a newspaper following a court decision. Prosecutors in March filed a motion to pursue sanctions against Santa Rosa Beach lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder at the behest of a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic. – A Northwest Florida judge is weighing how to handle an appellate court-fueled case against a lawyer who drew national headlines by donning a Grim Reaper costume to criticize Gov. ![]()
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