By Regan McCarthy
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-977852.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – A Judicial Qualifications Committee has wrapped up a hearing on a request by Judge Paul Hawkes to have charges against him dismissed for his conduct. Regan McCarthy reports Hawkes charges stem from his role as the mastermind behind a new courthouse in Tallahassee.
After more than two hours of arguments Broward County Circuit Judge Paul Backman, did not rule on the hearing, instead he says he will deliver a decision within a week. Hawkes' attorney, Ken Sukhia, asked a JQC hearing panel to remove the prosecutor in the case on grounds of bias against Hawkes.
"If somebody is sitting in there who has a high level position in that agency and I'm one of those witnesses then I may be and I would say likely to be influenced by the fact that he's in there."
The allegations against Hawkes include impairing public confidence in the courts, and acting in an undignified and discourteous matter in regard to a courthouse project, commonly known as the Taj Mahal.