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John Patrick Contini
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John Patrick Contini was a judge for the Seventeenth Circuit Court in Florida. He was elected to the court in 2014 for a term beginning on January 6, 2015. In November 2016, Contini received a public reprimand for violating judicial ethics rules. Read about this story below.
Contini resigned on July 6, 2018.[1]
Education
Contini received his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1979 and his J.D. from the New England School of Law in 1982.[2]
Career
- 2015-2018: Judge, Florida 17th Circuit Court
- 1987-2014: Criminal defense attorney, John P. Contini & Associates, P.A.
- 1983-1987: Fort Lauderdale assistant state attorney, Broward County State Attorney's Office
- 1980-1982: Contracts negotiator, Digital Equipment Corp.
- 1979-1980: Sales representative, L.B. Foster Co.[2]
Elections
2014
See also: Florida judicial elections, 2014
Contini ran for election to the Seventeenth Circuit Court.
Primary: He was successful in the primary on August 26, 2014, receiving 51.45 percent of the vote. He competed against Steven B. Feren.
[3][4]
Endorsements
- The Miami Herald[5]
Noteworthy events
Misconduct allegations (2015)
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) announced formal ethics charges against Judge John Patrick Contini on November 24, 2015. The allegations said that Contini provided one-sided assistance to defense lawyers by emailing an assistant public defender with tips on writing motions for reduced sentences. They additionally charged that he acted unprofessionally when prosecutors complained about it.[6]
The State Attorney's Office said such an email proved that the judge could not be impartial, and they sought to have him removed from all criminal cases. An appeals court was to decide whether to remove him the cases, but Contini requested to be moved to the court's Family Division before a decision was made. He remained in that division for the duration of his ethics case.[6]
On December 23, 2015, Contini filed a response to the ethics charges. He admitted to helping defense lawyers and acting unprofessionally towards prosecutors who complained about his actions.[7][8]
During his hearing on March 14, 2016, Contini apologized for his actions toward several attorneys, defendants, investigators and victims. Contini's attorney argued that the judge should receive a public reprimand. The JQC attorney did not argue for a specific discipline, but said that Contini's actions affected hundreds of cases.[9]
For Contini's punishment, the JQC recommended that he receive a public reprimand and deliver in person a written apology to the assistant attorney general whose court filing Contini called a "lie from the pit of hell."[10] In November 2016, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to the sanctions recommended by the JQC.[11]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John Patrick Contini Florida judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, "Judicial Directory"
- Sun Sentinel, "Judge Steven Feren faces election challenge from lawyer John Contini," July 13, 2014
- Facebook, "John Contini for Broward Circuit Court Judge"
- Broward Beat.com, "Judge Steve Feren Gets Last Minute Opponent," 2014
- Florida Trial Courts, “Circuit Court”
Footnotes
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Broward Judge Contini resigns abruptly," July 6, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 LinkedIn, "John Contini," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Florida Secretary of State, “Candidate Listing for 2014 General Election,” accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Circuit Court Judge primary results," accessed August 27, 2014
- ↑ Miami Herald, "The Herald recommends," July 28, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sun Sentinel, "Ethics charges filed against Broward Judge Contini," November 24, 2015
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Broward Judge Contini files response to ethics charges," December 23, 2015
- ↑ http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-contini-jqc-preparation-20160313-story.html Sun Sentinel, "Broward Judge Contini prepares for misconduct hearing," March 10, 2016]
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Broward judge apologizes for outbursts, conduct," March 14, 2016
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Judge needs to apologize for 'lie from the pit of hell' insult, but should keep his job, panel recommends," May 12, 2016
- ↑ Daily Business Review, "Broward Judge Contini Gets Reprimand in Ethics Case," November 10, 2016
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
