Fla. Judges Feel the Heat of Blog Spotlight
Like politicians before them, judges in Florida are feeling the pressures of the ever-watchful, ever-critical blogosphere.
Case in point, Dale Ross, who was chief judge for the Florida circuit court in Broward County for 16 years. He stepped down after a year of “embarrassing scandals, gaffes and bad behavior by his judges,” the National Law Journal reports.
The NLJ says that while Ross had faced calls for his resignation, it may not have happened had it not been for the daily hammering of the new Broward courthouse blog, JAABlog.
“I have strong feelings about what is going on in Broward,” one of the bloggers, criminal defense lawyer Bill Gelin, is quoted as saying. “People are upset about the ways things are being done in the criminal justice system. So we formed a group and then thought, ‘Why not have a blog?’ “
Other blogs hailed and assailed for having an impact on Florida judges:
– Justice Building Blog, anonymously written by “Rumpole of the Bailey.”
– South Florida Lawyers, anonymous civil law blog.
– Southern District of Florida Blog, authored by a prominent Miami criminal defense attorney.
Hat tip Criminal Justice Journalists.
