Judge reserves ruling on whether U.S. Supreme Court case applies locally
A two-hour hearing on whether the statements made by a former Southwest Florida prosecutor deserve punishment, that could include suspending his practice of the law, left an arbiter undecisive Jan. 18.
Arbiter Gilbert Smith, with Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit, reserved ruling on whether statements previously made by former prosecutor Christopher Crowley against State Attorney Amira Fox raise to a level deserving of censure.
During a phone conversation following the hearing, Crowley said he plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court if Smith rules in favor of the Florida Bar, represented by Lindsey Guinand.
Crowley has argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Counterman v. Colorado only "narrowly" applies to criminal, true-threat cases.
The Supreme Court case, involving Billy Counterman, a former baseball ace accused of sending hundreds of alleged "creepy" Facebook messages to a local singer and musician, established a minimum standard for punishing all speech.
The Florida Bar filed a complaint against attorney Christopher Crowley in April 2020 before the Florida Supreme Court alleging violations of Bar rules.
The Florida Bar's suit claimed that Crowley, during the 2018 political campaign for state attorney of the 20th Judicial Circuit "publicly disparaged his opponent through various political campaign materials, advertisements, and social media postings," among other rules violations
Crowley's 14-page reply to the Florida Bar's position on reconsidering and vacating the rulings of a prior arbiter is asking the court to meet the same level of speaker protection than in the case involving Sullivan, saying it applies to alleged defamatory political campaign speech.
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If Smith rules against Crowley's protected speech claim, the former prosecutor said he faces a five-year disqualification from practicing law.
The Florida Bar's complaint claimed that Crowley, during the 2018 political campaign for state attorney of the 20th Judicial Circuit "publicly disparaged his opponent through various political campaign materials, advertisements, and social media postings" among other rules violations. Crowley ran against State Attorney Amira Fox for the Republican Party.
Samantha Syoen, spokesperson for the State Attorney's Office, didn't respond to a request for comment after Smith's decision to reserve ruling.
The Florida Bar deemed Crowley's actions humiliating and disparaging.
The first arbiter who refereed the case,12th Circuit Judge Maria Ruhl, agreed and ruled in the bar's favor of recommending Crowley be found guilty and that a sanctions hearing be scheduled to determine discipline.
"She was afraid I would run against her again in the future," Crowley said after the Jan. 18 hearing. "I believe this was all political."
In his Jan. 12 written response to the Florida Bar, Phares Heindl, who represents Crowley, said the First Amendment protections set forth in Counterman's case apply to lawyers and all types of legal proceedings.
Guinand said the Florida Bar responded to Crowley's motion on Dec. 28, 2023.
"The [Florida] Bar's position is that Counterman does not apply to the Florida Bar disciplinary proceedings," Guinand said during the Jan. 18 hearing.
She said reconsidering the complete trial, evidence and testimony "would be extraordinarily prejudicial" and "procedurally improper."
She said the relief Crowley has asked for is "not relevant at this time" and asked that Smith deny Cowley's ask, which could lead to Crowley's penalization.
"Counterman does not make widespread changes to cases that involve historically unprotected speech," Guinand said. "Counterman doesn't apply to disciplinary cases."
Guinand said that in June 2023 the Florida Supreme Court didn't change its standard in a separate case, despite Counterman's background.
"[Crowley's] position is that disciplinary cases should change, but that's not required by Counterman," Guinand said.
Winnowing arbiters
Since the Florida Bar's case was filed, Ruhl and at least three other referees stepped down after Crowley filed motions for disqualification because of conflicts of interest. Three of those "step-downs" came within a two-week period in April 2021.
The conflict involved the use of the same political campaign treasurer as Fox — Eric Robinson, of Sarasota — by the judges: Ruhl, Melissa Gould, Erika Quartermaine and Thomas Krug.
Smith is the current presiding referee.
Smith in August 2021 denied a motion filed by Crowley's seeking reconsideration or a new trial, leaving Ruhl's ruling in effect since.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Judge to rule on validity of Supreme Court case in local complaint
