Public Reprimand of Judge Dennis Daniel Bailey

During a felony criminal trial, Judge Dennis Daniel Bailey ordered his courtroom deputy, loudly and in front of the jury, to remove one of the defendant’s attorneys from a sidebar conference. He then improperly denied the defendant’s disqualification motion. Judge Bailey and the Judicial Qualifications Commission have stipulated that he violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and should be publicly reprimanded. We approve the stipulation.
FACTUAL BASIS
On April 17, 2018, Judge Bailey was presiding over Genesis Espejo’s felony
criminal trial in Broward County. During the trial, a legal issue came up that required a sidebar conversation. Ms. Espejo’s two attorneys left the defense table and came to the bench for the sidebar. As found by the commission, [w]hen one of the attorneys tried to help his colleague articulate a point during the sidebar, Judge Bailey repeatedly attempted to quiet him by saying, “One lawyer at a time,” “Only one lawyer argues,” followed shortly thereafter by, “You have a hard time understanding me? Two lawyers can’t argue one argument.” There was no standing order that only one attorney per side was allowed to argue a point, and this was the first time Judge Bailey communicated such an order to counsel.
As the attorney who was trying to help his colleague started to say, “Judge I mean no disrespect,” Judge Bailey raised his voice over the “white noise” that he turned on during the sidebar conversation and ordered his courtroom deputy to approach the bench and “return this attorney to his table.” “The attorney immediately retreated away from the sidebar and back to counsel table as soon as he saw the deputy approaching.” Had the attorney not retreated to counsel table, Judge Bailey “would have allowed the deputy to use physical force, ‘if necessary.’ ” All of this was “in full view and hearing of the jury.” Ms. Espejo’s non-removed attorney then moved for time to file a disqualification motion. Judge Bailey allowed a forty-five-minute break to draft and file the motion to disqualify, and then denied it as legally insufficient. Judge Bailey improperly denied the motion because he believed it was a “trial tactic” and he could be fair to the parties. He “did not consider the motion from the defendant’s perspective when considering whether or not to grant it.”
Based on the sidebar conversation and disqualification motion in the Espejo trial, the commission charged Judge Bailey with violating canons 1, 2A, 3B(1), 3B(4), and 3B(7) of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct.
The commission held a hearing on the charges (at which Judge Bailey testified), found probable cause for the violations, and recommended that Judge Bailey be publicly reprimanded.