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John Pacenti
Daily Business Review
05-02-2007

Veteran Broward County, Fla., Circuit Judge Charles Greene, the administrative chief of the criminal division, asked to be re-assigned from the criminal bench Tuesday after he was accused of making a racially insensitive remark in his courtroom.

In a letter to Broward Chief Judge Dale Ross on Monday, Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein complained that Greene used the initials "NHI" -- meaning No Humans Involved -- to describe defendants and witnesses in an attempted murder case involving minorities.

Greene made the comment after the acquittal of James Thompson on April 19 on charges of attempted murder, burglary and shooting into a vehicle, according to Thompson's attorney, Tom O'Connell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

This is the latest in a series of embarrassments for the Broward judiciary. Leaders of South Florida's minority bar groups recently sent a letter to the Florida Supreme Court complaining about a "continued lack of sensitivity" toward racial and ethnic groups displayed by Ross and other Broward judges. Ross met with the minority bar leaders in March to discuss their concerns.

Ross and Greene did not return calls for comment by deadline Tuesday.

In his letter, Finkelstein called for Greene's removal from the criminal division and from his post as criminal administrative chief judge. Finkelstein testified Monday in front of the Broward Circuit Court's new diversity committee. But the panel determined Tuesday that Greene did not intentionally make a racist comment, court spokesman Chris Stotz said.

Greene acknowledged making the NHI statement, which was addressed to O'Connell and others at the conclusion of the trial, but he said it was to indicate that neither the victim nor the witnesses had jury appeal. "I made a statement without knowledge of any racial implication or overtone, but commenting solely on the lack of credibility of the witnesses," Greene wrote in a letter to Ross.

Broward Circuit Court judges, including Ross, have drawn sharp criticism recently because of insensitive remarks and actions concerning minorities and poor people. Greene, who has served on the Broward bench for more than 16 years, acknowledged this in his letter.

"This incident has now become another needless distraction," Greene wrote. "Now it appears that misunderstood comment is creating a situation that should not continue in the best interests of the circuit and the criminal divisions. That being the case, and in light of my belief that the courts should operate free from such issues, even if they are misperceived, I request assignment from the civil division."

In an interview, Finkelstein said there was no excuse for Greene's comment. "It's as vile term as exists. Some people say it's worse than the 'N' word," said the public defender, who has led the criticism of alleged misconduct by Broward judges. "What preceded slavery, what preceded the Holocaust, was the rendering of people as subhuman. This term has no place in the English language."

According to O'Connell, the comment was made in front of him, assistant state attorney David DiPietro and other court personnel. O'Connell said he didn’t know what NHI meant until a friend of his, attorney Kevin Kulik, told him it was a commonly used term used in the Broward County state attorney's office in the 1980s for black-on-black crimes.

"In my mind it was clearly a racial epithet," Kulik said. "Greene was in the prosecutor's office with me at the same time. I'm sure he heard it in the same way I heard it. It is disappointing to me he would repeat a thing like that after all those years. You certainly would never hear a phrase like that in a trial involving white people or wealthy people."

After Greene decided Tuesday to remove himself from the criminal bench, Finkelstein was more forgiving. "I think he is doing the right thing, the honorable thing," Finkelstein said. "I don't think Judge Greene is a racist. I don't know if he is a classist. I think he is a good man who spoke stupidly and insensitively."

Finkelstein said that after Greene's comments, it would be inappropriate for Greene to remain on the criminal bench because minority and poor defendants could never be sure they would be seen in the same light as others with more means.

"We have no problem with him sitting on the civil bench," Finkelstein said.

But Jose Izquierdo, president of Broward County Hispanic Bar Association, said he wanted to look into this matter further before drawing any conclusions. "There are those who will throw stones real quick," Izquierdo said. "I think Judge Greene is a good judge. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Minority bar leaders had appealed to Ross in February to address the issue of how judges communicate with minorities and poor people.

"We now come to you seeking your assistance in putting an end to this insensitive behavior," minority bar leaders wrote in the Feb. 28 letter. "Behavior such as what has been displayed in Broward highlights the need for mandatory statewide training by all who serve in the judiciary."

The letter was signed by leaders of minority bar groups, including the Cuban American Bar Association, the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association, the Haitian Lawyers Association and the Hispanic Bar Association.

While presiding over bail hearings in early February, Ross said a black defendant charged with violating a noise ordinance was "playing that atrocious rap music on a boom box." Ross also told the interpreter for a Mexican immigrant charged with drunken driving to "tell him we welcome him to our fine country."

Broward judges underwent sensitivity training last spring following complaints about offensive comments by some judges. Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda, who is now on leave after being arrested for smoking pot, asked a battered woman seeking a restraining order to speak in English instead of her native Spanish.

County Court Judge Leonard Feiner chastised the custodial supervisor for the actions of the mostly Haitian-American courthouse cleaning staff after he found his courtroom in disarray, stating that the cleaning staff "may live in hovels."

Broward Circuit judges Cheryl Aleman and Eileen O’Connor also have been criticized for alleged insensitivity to poor and minority defendants in their courtrooms. Aleman currently is fighting misconduct charges filed by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.