Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. 09-518 re Colodny, 51 So. 3d 430

JQC charged Judge Colodny with misconduct during her 2008 campaign for circuit court in the Eleventh Circuit; the charges centered on treating a $125,000 loan from her father as a campaign loan rather than a personal loan,

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Colodny’s conduct violated Canons 1, 2A, and 6B	JQC: violations alleged due to misreporting of funds	Colodny: relied on counsel and statute interpretation	Yes, violations established
Whether the misconduct warrants a public reprimand and a fine	JQC: sanction appropriate but modest	Colodny: less severe sanction warranted	Public reprimand and $5,000 fine approved
Whether the sanction should be greater due to alleged partiality	JQC: potential partiality justifies severe sanction	Colodny’s actions not implying partiality; acted on advice	No partiality shown; no need for harsher sanction
Role of cooperation/mitigation in determining discipline	JQC: cooperation considered but balance of factors favors discipline	Colodny cooperated, corrected filings	Mitigation supports modest sanction rather than harsher punishment

In re Rodriguez, 829 So.2d 857 (Fla. 2002) (conduct more egregious; misleading reports and false letters led to harsher discipline)
In re Pando, 903 So.2d 902 (Fla. 2005) (knowingly/recklessly violated reporting; significant penalty in that case)
In re Angel, 867 So.2d 379 (Fla. 2004) (distinguished from partiality-implying misconduct; public reprimand appropriate where impartiality not compromised)
In re Kinsey, 842 So.2d 77 (Fla. 2003) (illustrates substantial fines where impartiality implicated)
In re McMillan, 797 So.2d 560 (Fla. 2001) (removal for pattern of misconduct; supports scale of discipline in other contexts)
In re Luzzo, 756 So.2d 76 (Fla. 2000) (cooperation as mitigating factor in sanctioning)
In re Frank, 753 So.2d 1228 (Fla. 2000) (context for sanctions in similar judicial misconduct)