Lawyers’ Public Allegations of Racial Prejudice by Trial Judge Lead to 30-Day Suspension
From the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion yesterday in Florida Bar v. Girley:
Jerry is the managing partner of the Girley Law Firm, and Brooke, who is Jerry’s daughter, holds an “of counsel” position at the firm. In 2021, Jerry represented Baiywo Rop in a civil lawsuit against Adventist Health System before the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Rop, a native of Kenya, alleged that Adventist Health wrongfully terminated him from its residency program due to discrimination based on race, national origin, and disability. The complaint also alleged retaliation. After Jerry presented Rop’s case in chief, Adventist Health moved for directed verdict on all claims. The presiding judge, Judge Kevin Weiss, granted Adventist Health’s motion on Rop’s claims of discrimination based on national origin and disability. However, he reserved ruling on Rop’s claims of discrimination based on race and retaliation.
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Rop, finding that he proved that his race was a motivating factor in the decision to terminate him, and awarded him compensatory damages in the amount of $2.75 million. After the jury’s verdict, Judge Weiss ruled on Adventist Health’s earlier motion for directed verdict based on the racial discrimination claim and entered a directed verdict in favor of Adventist Health, finding that Rop failed to prove a prima facie case of unlawful discrimination based on race under the Florida Civil Rights Act. {Judge Weiss’s order cited a decision in which this Court recognized the practice of reserving ruling on motions for directed verdict until after the jury returns a verdict … in order to avoid the need for a costly new trial in case of a reversal on appeal ….}
After the trial court entered its Order on Directed Verdicts, Brooke reposted on her social media the following posts by her brother Brian Girley, who handles social media for the firm: “Today in Orlando Florida a white Judge stole justice from a black doctor. After being awarded by a jury $2.75 million for discrimination a judge reversed their verdict. We need help getting this out,” and “The Girley Law Firm won a case against @AdventHealth where a jury found that they had discriminated against a black doctor and awarded him $2.75 million. Today a white judge stole justice from him. This needs attention!” Brooke posted a picture of Judge Weiss with the message that “a white judge stole justice from a black doctor.”
In the days following the trial, Brooke made several comments on social media regarding Judge Weiss and the Rop case, such as “[t]his is an injustice. One judge shouldn’t be able
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