Suit seeks to allow judicial candidates to express opinions.

A conservative, family values group has filed a federal lawsuit seeking declarative and injunctive relief to allow state judicial candidates to give their personal opinions on public issues.

The Florida Family Policy Council filed its case August 28 in the Northern District Court in Tallahassee. It seeks to prevent the Judicial Qualifications Commission from enforcing Canons 3E(1) and 3E(1)(f) of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Those require judges to recuse themselves from cases if they have expressed opinions that likely would make a litigant question their impartiality.

The suit also named as defendants The Florida Bar's five branch chief disciplinary counsels, apparently in the erroneous belief that Bar grievance staff investigate complaints against judges for the JQC.

Brooke Kennerly, JQC executive director, said the agency usually does not comment on pending litigation until it has been thoroughly reviewed. She said the suit had been forwarded to Tampa attorney Marvin Barkin, the JQC's interim general counsel.

The suit follows the FFPC sending a questionnaire to this year's judicial candidates, seeking their opinions on legal rulings affecting gay adoption and marriage, abortion, and school vouchers.

The Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee had already issued an opinion on the survey that said candidates could express opinions on issues, as long as they made it clear they will follow the law and precedent once on the bench. That opinion also noted the answers must not appear, in the eyes of a reasonable person, to bind the judge to rule in a certain way or the judge would be subject to recusal.

John Stemberger, president of the FFPC, said although almost half of the candidates returned the questionnaires, only a handful actually answered the legal issue questions, which the group attributed to a fear of prosecution by the JQC for violating the canons.

"We believe these canons violate the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution," said Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and member of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.

According to the group's court filing, "Canon 3E(1) requires a judge to disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding to which the judge's 'impartiality might reasonably be questioned.' Canon 3E(1)(f) specifically requires a judge to disqualify himself or herself when 'the judge, while a judge or a candidate for judicial office, has made a public statement that commits, or appears to commit, the judge...