IN RE INQUIRY CONCERNING A JUDGE NO. 91-44 RE RICHARD W. CARR
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The court publicly reprimands Judge Richard W. Carr for improper conduct by a judicial officer.
Judge Carr made offensive and inappropriate remarks in his courtroom, including using ethnic slurs. He stipulated to the findings of the Judicial Qual…
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PER CURIAM.
This proceeding is before the Court upon stipulation between the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission and the Honorable Richard W. Carr of the County Court for Pinellas County, Florida. At a hearing in his courtroom, Judge Carr made the following statement:
Now, you can throw your Italian temper around in the bars but you don’t throw them around in my courtroom. Do you understand, Mr. Orsello? I’m just as Irish as you are Dago. Do you understand? The only trouble is I’m the boss here and I’ve got two cops who do anything I tell them to, including taking you to jail.
The parties stipulate that Judge Carr regrets and apologizes for his conduct and does not contest the findings and recommendation of the commission as set forth below:
1. You have conducted yourself in a manner designed to lessen public confidence in the dignity, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, in violation of Canons 1, 2A and 3A(6) of the Code of Judicial Conduct.
2. You have exhibited rude, improper and inappropriate behavior in open court, in that in the case of State of Florida v. Herbert J. Celler, County Court for Pinellas County, Criminal Court No. CTC89-24317MMANO, in your courtroom on December 15, 1989, you used inappropriate language and referred to a charging (complaining) witness in such a way as to slur his nationality when you referred to him as a “Dago”....
Based upon the foregoing findings, the commission recommends, and Judge Carr does not contest, that he be publicly reprimanded for his conduct. Accordingly, we hereby reprimand Judge Richard W. Carr for improper conduct by a judicial officer. It is so ordered.
SHAW, C.J., and OVERTON, McDonald, barkett, grimes, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur.
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In re Inquiry Concerning a Judge v. Wood, 720 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 1998)…open court, this Court has found a public reprimand to be the appropriate form of discipline. See In re Wright, 694 So. 2d 734, 734-36 (Fla.1997); In re Perry, 641 So. 2d 366,367-69 (Fla.1994); In re Marko, 695 So. 2d 46, 46 (Fla.1992); In re Carr, 593 So. 2d 1044, 1045 (Fla.1992); In re Trettis, 577 So. 2d 1312, 1312-13 (Fla.1991). In several other cases, this Court has required that the judge being disciplined make a personal appearance to receive his or her public reprimand. See In re Alley, 699 So. 2d 136…
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Inquiry Concerning a Judge, 755 So. 2d 110 (Fla. 2000)…in courtroom and exercised his contempt powers in an arbitrary and improper manner); In re Marko, 595 So. 2d 46, 46 (Fla.1992) (involving judge who made “rude, improper, and inappropriate” remarks during dissolution of marriage hearing); In re Carr, 593 So. 2d 1044, 1045 (Fla.1992) (involving judge who made rude and improper remarks regarding ethnicity during a court hearing); cf. In re Zack, 570 So. 2d 938, 939 (Fla.1990) (involving judge who used “very profane language” in reference to the Broward County She…
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Inquiry Concerning a Judge, 998 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2008)…2d 110 (Fla.2000) (involving judge who made rude and discourteous remarks during oral argument); In re Marko, 595 So. 2d 46 (Fla.1992) (involving judge who made improper and inappropriate remarks during dissolution of marriage hearing); In re Carr, 593 So. 2d 1044 (Fla.1992) (involving judge who made rude and improper remarks regarding ethnicity during a court hearing). Accordingly, we accept the JQC’s recommendation of a public reprimand. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated, we approve the JQC’s findings of…