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Judge Doyle Removed from Court Rotation – BREAKING NEWS!

Judge Doyle has managed to strike again, this time in the civil court which deals with Baker and Marchman Act hearings.

These two pieces of law are in place for people who need help with mental or dependency issues but, after a string of complaints regarding his conduct – not looking at or hearing evidence, summary orders without hearing evidence – which sounds all too familiar, Chief Judge Walsh has decided to act and remove His Honor from the rotation.

Below is the press story published today in the Daytona News Journal:

Judge removed from Baker Act cases after remarks

By JAY STAPLETON
Staff writer

DAYTONA BEACH — A circuit judge who angered attorneys three months ago with his remark about a South Florida lawyer “smoking Cohibas” and “drinking lattes” has once again prompted complaints with his words.

Circuit Judge John V. Doyle, 60, was removed this week from the rotation of a dozen judges who preside over Baker Act and Marchman Act hearings after he was accused of calling people seeking treatment “drunks” and “drug addicts.”

An employee of Stewart-Marchman-ACT Behavioral Healthcare reported to her bosses the judge “denied every respondent their right to a fair hearing by ordering every petition without reading it,” court records show.

As a counterpart to the state’s Baker Act, in which people can be held involuntarily for psychiatric issues, the Marchman Act allows people to be held or involuntarily treated for substance abuse.

Doyle’s behavior at the hearings to determine treatment for about a dozen people last Thursday prompted complaints to Chief Judge J. David Walsh, who wrote Doyle telling him he would no longer handle those cases.

“You recently told my judicial assistant that you prefer not to speak with me concerning any issues,” Walsh wrote. “That being the situation, I advise you that you are immediately removed from the rotation schedule of circuit judges presiding over Baker Act and Marchman Act hearings.”

Doyle did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

The mother of one man who appeared before Doyle said she complained to the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Rhonda Grasseler was in court that day to try to get her 32-year-old son help under the Marchman Act for his drug problem. She said Doyle gave the 13 cases before him a minute each and refused to hear from anyone, instead making decisions instantly.

“My son needs treatment and I wanted and expected to be heard,” she said. Though her son was given an assessment for treatment, “which is what he needed,” she was concerned enough to complain.

Renee Wolf, a court liaison for the Marchman Act, wrote in a letter to her bosses that Doyle denied all attempts by anyone to speak. “Families asked to speak, and he would say, ‘Denied, next case,’ ” Wolf wrote.

Chet Bell, CEO of Stewart-Marchman-ACT, said the letter was passed on to the chief judge. “We simply felt it was necessary to forward our staffs’ account of what happened to the chief judge,” he said. “That is essentially our only role.”

Judge Walsh, who is investigating concerns raised in the letters, provided records requested in the matter but declined further comment.

The court is limited in what action it can take under Florida law, which places disciplinary powers in the hands of the Judicial Qualifications Commission. The commission is prohibited from confirming pending investigations. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Volusia County Judge Mary Jane Henderson.

Doyle — who’s been a judge since 1990 and was re-elected without opposition last year — removed himself from a foreclosure case in September after complaints were made about comments he made in that case.

At a hearing, Doyle told attorney Farzad Milani, who was representing a bank, “that he would not do his work while (Milani) sits in his office in Fort Lauderdale smoking his Cohiba cigars and drinking his lattes.”