Decision not to seek re-election is costly for Palm Beach County circuit judge

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes

When Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes decided not to seek a third term, it cost him nearly $7,000.

By the time he alerted state election officials that he’d had a change of heart, he already had filed papers to seek re-election. By law, candidate qualifying fees are not refundable once the books are closed.

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Kastrenakes, a former federal prosecutor who rode to the bench in 2009 as a corruption fighter but stumbled in 2019 when he jailed a juror who overslept, didn’t respond to an email or text to explain his sudden — and costly — reversal.

In a letter to supporters, he said he wanted to spend more time with his wife, adult children and nine grandchildren. But, he hinted at other concerns as well.

“Recent developments in the election landscape created new circumstances that would have substantially impacted my family and my job as a judicial officer,” he wrote. “As my career has amply demonstrated, being a good husband, father, grandfather and dedicated, hard-working judge takes priority, especially over politics.”

While Kastrenakes’ letter doesn’t explicitly spell out his reasons, his short-lived campaign manager and an attorney who serves as campaign treasurer said the judge’s reasons were simple.

Kastrenakes didn’t have any interest in engaging in what could have become a protracted campaign, they said.

When two candidates — attorneys Caryn Siperstein and Alcoya St. Juste — filed to run against him, Kastrenakes realized the campaign could drag into November, said Rick Asnani, who had agreed to serve as the judge’s campaign consultant.

“Is there a possibility I’ll have two elections?” Asnani remembered Kastrenakes asking him after the two women filed papers to run against him.

Absolutely, Asnani responded. With three candidates in the race, it’s possible one wouldn’t get more than 50% of the vote in the Aug. 23 primary. That would force a November runoff between the top two voter-getters.

The outlook soured Kastrenakes on his re-election bid. “He was not willing to put his family through that at this stage of his career,” said attorney Jack Scarola, who serves as the judge’s campaign treasurer.

St. Juste and Siperstein have both unsuccessfully run for office before. Siperstein couldn't be reached for comment about the strange election twist.

St. Juste said she expected Kastrenakes to run for re-election. She declined to say why she set her sights on Kastrenakes instead of one of 13 other circuit judges whose terms would have expired this year. The others were automatically re-elected when no one filed to run against them.

When Kastrenakes was appointed to the bench by Gov. Charlie Crist, he was a local hero, having successfully prosecuted seven public officials in four years. Those he sent to prison on corruption charges included West Palm Beach city commissioners Ray Liberti and Jim Exline and county commissioners Tony Masilotti, Warren Newell and Mary McCarty.

A year after his appointment, his judgment was questioned. He called a Florida Highway Patrol trooper "a liar," after she stopped him for driving the wrong way in a parking lot of a service plaza on Florida's Turnpike.  During his rant, Kastrenakes also said he would doubt the veracity of any FHP officer who appeared in his courtroom, according to an agency report.

At the urging of state prosecutors, who worried he might be seen as biased, Kastrenakes agreed to step down from seven cases involving the FHP. He also apologized.

Controversial jailing of college student who didn't report for jury duty

In 2019, he sparked national outrage after he jailed a 21-year-old college student for 10 days after he failed to report for jury duty. Deandre Somerville, who had no prior criminal record, said he overslept.

While Somerville’s absence delayed the start of a trial for just 45 minutes, Kastrenakes said the West Palm Beach man willfully violated a court order and found him guilty of contempt of court.

News of Somerville’s sentence went viral, sparking an outcry about how a man with no criminal record could be sentenced to jail for what some viewed as a minor offense.

Many suggested Somerville, the grandson of a former West Palm Beach city commissioner, was treated harshly because he is Black. Kastrenakes insisted he would take the same action against anyone who shirked jury service.

Local leaders called for Kastrenakes to be investigated by a state judicial watchdog group or at the least be removed from the criminal bench. No charges were filed against him by the Judicial Qualifications Commission nor was he immediately transferred out of criminal court.

Despite the controversy that punctuated his years on the bench, Kastrenakes is a credit to the judiciary, Scarola said.

“He’s an excellent judge,” Scarola said. He added that he was disappointed Kastrenakes didn’t seek a third term. “It’s very unfortunate,” he said.

In deciding to withdraw from the campaign, Kastrenakes also wanted to be able to continue to serve as a judge during his retirement, Asnani said. Judges who lose re-election bids aren’t allowed to handle cases as senior judges.

Kastrenakes told supporters that his retirement will also allow him to expand his teaching schedule. He said he will be working with “multiple agencies whose mission is dedicated to making our nation safe.”

Scarola said he is helping Kastrenakes close his campaign account. Kastrenakes will return the contributions he received. The $15,000 he loaned to the campaign will more than cover the $6,620 filing fee, Scarola said.

Siperstein, a senior assistant attorney general, in 2020 unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Circuit Judge Jaimie Goodman. St. Juste, a West Palm Beach family law and juvenile dependency attorney, in 2018 was defeated by Scott Kerner for an open seat on the circuit bench.

Other than the race between the two, there is only one other contested judicial race in the August election. Boca Raton attorney Karen Velez is challenging long-time County Judge Paul Damico.

Jane Musgrave covers federal and civil courts and occasionally ventures into criminal trials in state court. Contact her at jmusgrave@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County Judge Kastrenakes makes costly withdrawal from race