Stories about judges

Former Jacksonville prosecutor helped sentence blacks to far more time behind bars.

This story was a collaboration with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. For this story, I put together a database of two years of drug convictions, tracking about 30 variables, so that we could identify what aggravated and mitigated racial disparities. We then profiled the prosecutor with the largest disparities. I interviewed about 30 prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys and people who grew up with her, which included traveling to her childhood home in Staten Island, to put the profile together with Josh Salman and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

For 11 years, Collins Cooper attracted criticism. Now that he’s running for judge, he’s unopposed.

Rarely do those who run for judicial office in Jacksonville get challenged. Collins Cooper was the son of two of Jacksonville’s most prominent attorneys and the grandson of the man who wrote the city’s charter, yet I heard from more than 20 attorneys who complained he wasn’t fit for the job. While none were willing to speak on the record for fear of retribution, I confirmed many of their complaints with State Attorney’s Office records that showed throughout his career his supervisors criticized his legal knowledge and his professionalism.

Man shouldn't have gone to jail for getting a job at Michael's instead of Home Depot, court rules

Court: Woman who stole $17 in food shouldn't have been declared a danger to society

Chief felony judge Russell Healey repeatedly earned the scorn of appellate judges who noted he was violating defendants’ rights, going on tirades and rejecting facts presented before him. He rejected what probation officers told him; he brought up religion as a motivation for his sentencing; he denied journalists their right to see hearings. In these two cases, I summarized some of his worst offenses. After these stories, he was reassigned to family court.

Duval County judge leading vote-counting board donated to Trump 12 times. That's not allowed.

County Judge Brent Shore violated state law by donating dozens of times to Republican causes, including to Donald Trump. Judges aren’t allowed to donate to political causes. To make matters worse, he served as the head of the county’s vote-counting board, members of which are also prohibited from donating to politicians. I uncovered this after he had restricted the vote-counting process from journalists and rejected local Democrats’ ability to object to the board’s decisions.

Last-minute maneuvers allow Jacksonville lawyer to become judge without an election

The day after Circuit Judge Tyrie Boyer sent a check to qualify to run for re-election, he withdrew his candidacy, just hours before the deadline closed to file. At the same moment, Michael Kalil, the son of a prominent tobacco lawyer, filed for that election, ensuring he would win unopposed. This came after an earlier election between Kalil and another candidate was canceled.

Without explanation, Jacksonville judge sought jail time, required bail for protesters

County Judge Michael Bateh ran an assembly-line process to require bail from every protester arrested after the death of George Floyd, even though prosecutors didn’t ask for the bail. Arrest reports were copied and pasted with no difference between them, and despite evidence or arguments presented to Bateh, he ignored a state law requiring him to presume he should release defendants without bail.

Commission interviews 17 candidates for Duval judge opening: 'Virtually everyone who applies is a Republican'

In Florida, governors appoint through a judicial nominating process where finalists are selected by a commission. Those commissions often ask questions to vet candidates for their conservative credentials, favoring prosecutors and civil defense lawyers. In this case, they explicitly brought up partisan politics, even though the state’s judicial rules bar candidates from talking about party politics.