Palmetto law firm: Baseball tickets for Judge John Lakin did not influence case outcome
MANATEE -- A law firm that provided Tampa Bay Rays tickets to a Manatee judge now under investigation said Thursday it doesn't believe the tickets influenced the judge's decision in their case.
The lawyers said they have given away thousands of baseball tickets.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission charged Circuit Judge John Lakin with misconduct Monday for requesting and taking Tampa Bay Rays baseball tickets from the Kallins Little & Delgado law firm while presiding over the case Wittke v. Walmart.
A jury trial in June ruled in favor of Walmart, and Lakin later overturned the decision to the benefit of the law firm's client.
Kallins Little & Delgado gave Lakin baseball tickets four times while the case was pending with five tickets coming the day before Lakin overturned the jury decision. The firm represented Wittke.
Melton Little said in a statement the firm has had five season tickets to the Rays since 1998 and frequently gives tickets away.
"We have given away thousands of tickets to friends, clients, churches, children (sick and healthy), charitable organizations, schools, school teachers and countless others," Little said.
Little said the firm has had a number of cases in front of Lakin and he has ruled for and against their attorneys. He said they regret the timing of the situation but don't believe it affected his decision in the case.
"To suggest that Judge Lakin would have been influenced by a couple of tickets to a Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox game and put his judicial career in jeopardy is ridiculous," Little concluded.
JQC rules require judges not to conduct activities outside court that cast doubt on a judge's ability to be impartial, undermine the judge's independence or demean the judicial office.
Specifically, a rule prohibits judges from "accepting gifts, favors, bequests or loans from lawyers or their firms if they have come or are likely to come before the judge."
Florida Bar rules state a lawyer "shall not seek to influence a judge, juror, prospective juror or other decision maker except as permitted by law or the rules of court."
The Florida Supreme Court has jurisdiction in Lakin's case and will decide penalties up to and including removing him from the bench. A telephone status conference in his case to discuss needed witnesses, necessary time and amendments to charges was scheduled for March 1.
Kate Irby, Herald online/political reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7055. You can follow her on Twitter@KateIrby
This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Palmetto law firm: Baseball tickets for Judge John Lakin did not influence case outcome ."