State Judge Asks About Immigrant Status: Fifth Amendment Problem?

A Broward County judge on the shortlist for a promotion to CircuitCourt has repeatedly asked traffic court defendants if they were hereillegally, and in at least one case, turned over an illegal immigrant to lawenforcement.

Several Hispanic attorneys and judges questioned whether BrowardCounty Judge Lee Seidman broke rules governing courtroom procedure. And membersof a judicial screening committee who put him on the shortlist said he misledthem about his treatment of illegal immigrants.

Seidman denied any wrongdoing in a telephone interview on Friday.

In a March 24, 2003 hearing, Seidman reviewed the charges againstHilmer Morales: driving with a broken taillight and driving without a license.

”Have a seat,” Seidman told the 22-year-old man, after Moralesacknowledged through a translator that he was here illegally from Peru.“You’re ordered not to leave until you’re checked in by the sheriff’s officefor the immigration issue.”

Judges are supposed to notify all defendants that pleading notguilty or no contest could lead to their deportation if they are not U.S.citizens, according to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.

But the rules also suggest that defendants should not be askedabout their citizenship. That’s because the question could force them toincriminate themselves, in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S.Constitution.

”You don’t ask those questions,” said Broward County JudgeRobert W. Lee, a former president of the Broward Hispanic Bar Association.“The rule says no. The case law says no. Whether you like it or not, you’resupposed to be a neutral party, not law enforcement.”

Lee was one of several Hispanic attorneys andjudges who raised questions about Seidman’s conduct after The Miami Heraldinformed them about the March 24, 2003 hearing. The Judicial QualificationsCommission, which examines allegations of judicial misconduct and recommendsdisciplinary action, should be notified, said Ramon Abadin, past president ofthe Cuban-American Bar Association and a member of the Florida Supreme CourtStanding Committee on Fairness and Diversity.

Source: Miami Herald
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