In judge’s race, reckless Recksiedler needs to go | Commentary
Voters often have a tough time casting ballots in judicial races where it can be difficult to determine which candidate is best. However, in one judicial race this year, the decision isn’t tough at all.
In choosing between incumbent Jessica Recksiedler and challenger John Mannion, the evidence is clear that a change is needed.
Recksiedler tried to keep a man on death row — even after someone else confessed to the crime to four different people. The Supreme Court had to step in, and the man was ultimately freed after 14 years.
She was reprimanded by that same high court for lying — about her long history of speeding tickets while trying to score a judicial promotion.
And lawyers of Seminole County have ranked her as the least knowledgeable, least efficient and least impartial judge in the 18th circuit. By far.
Yet, despite this clear record of recklessness, Recksiedler’s judicial peers recently promoted her to chief judge.
That is the Seminole County way — when everyone in the county knows there’s a problem, but no one in power is willing to do anything about it. You’ve seen it before. So now it’s up to voters.
Fortunately, they have an appealing alternative in John Mannion — a former prosecutor with nearly two decades of legal experience. A guy who just last year won the Bar Association’s award for professionalism.
Mannion faces an uphill battle. Incumbent judges rarely lose. And the Seminole-Brevard circuit’s power structure is backing Recksiedler — reprimand, faulty rulings, rotten reviews and all.
She has endorsements from the state attorney, both counties’ sheriffs, the local bail bonds association and at least 18 lawyers with the Morgan & Morgan law firm.
In a testimonial on Recksiedler’s campaign website, State Attorney Phil Archer — whose office has cases before Recksiedler — lavished praise on the judge, saying she had professionalism, integrity and “is committed to justice for all citizens that come before her while ensuring the rights of victims.”
Now, consider what the justices of the Florida Supreme Court said about her:
“At the most fundamental level, you have damaged the public trust.”
Those were the words of then-Chief Justice Jorge Labarga after the court discovered Recksiedler had lied about getting a speeding ticket.
A ticket by itself might not be a big deal. But Recksiedler had a string of them — for speeding, reckless driving and failing to have proof of insurance — and then lied about getting stopped again while trying to get promoted to the court of appeal.
Recksiedler said she misunderstood the question. The court made sure she understood its reprimand. Justice Labarga said: “Judge Recksiedler, your conduct demonstrated a lack of candor not befitting the high standards of ethical conduct expected of all judges in this state.”
That, my friends, is this circuit’s chief judge.
The reprimand was issued in 2015. But just this year, the members of the Seminole County Bar ranked her as the least-professional judge in the entire circuit in its annual survey.
And they ranked her last by a country mile. On a 10-point scale for overall professional conduct, most judges earned 8.8 or higher when considering things like demeanor and knowledge of case law. Recksiedler got a 5.93.
That may help explain her role in one of Seminole County’s greatest travesties of justice — the case of Javier Clemente Aguirre.
Aguirre’s story could fill a book. I predict it one day will. But the short version is that the state spent 14 years trying to execute this undocumented immigrant from Honduras for two gruesome murders in Seminole County.
The case looked solid enough for a while. But then someone else confessed to the crimes — to four different people on five different occasions. New evidence also surfaced that showed the confessor’s blood was at the crime scene while Aguirre’s was not.
Case closed, right? A confession and DNA evidence. Nope. When Aguirre’s attorneys asked for a new trial, Recksiedler refused, saying she thought the new evidence probably wouldn’t have mattered to a jury. Think about that.
The Supreme Court heartily disagreed and thankfully intervened. Aguirre was ultimately set free after 14 years without any compensation or apology.
That case is a big part of what prompted Mannion to run. “I haven’t heard any kind of remorse or contrition about a man who sat on death row for years,” the former prosecutor said. “And that just doesn’t sit well with me.”
Me either. It shouldn’t sit well with anyone.
When a Sentinel reporter asked Recksiedler last month to answer some basic questions about her record and experience, she did not. Instead, an email that came back from her JessicaForJudge email account said “Judge Recksiedler’s time is limited” and suggested the reporter instead read her campaign material. (Oddly, the person — who referred to Recksiedler in the third person — wouldn’t identify him/herself, even when asked. Scott Maxwell found that strange.)
Mannion knows he faces steep odds in his campaign. Sitting judges are usually re-elected. The power structure is backing this one. And while Aguirre’s case received lots of attention in Seminole County, more than half the circuit’s voters are in Brevard.
But for anyone paying attention, the facts are clear.
