Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together

Judge David French
Judge Colin and his wife [Elizabeth Savitt] have socialized with one of the judges she appears in front of regularly, The Post has learned.

Colin and Circuit Judge David French eat lunch together nearly every day. Colin and French co-hosted a trivia night in May for the South Palm Beach Bar Association. The event was co-sponsored by Pankauski’s firm. French did not return repeated attempts for comment.

French’s first ex-wife Gayle Smith said her son, now grown, grew up in French’s household and knew Colin as his father’s running “mate” and that they often went on trips together.

French’s second ex-wife, Christine Connelly, said she and Judge French were friends with Colin and Savitt. The two couples had planned a cruise vacation about five years ago, but it fell through when Colin didn’t have his passport.

“We hung out, played tennis,” she said.

French apparently doesn’t always disclose this information to lawyers opposing Savitt in his courtroom on issues such as fees or her activities as a guardian.

Thomas Dougherty said he would have liked to have known that the judges socialized when he opposed Savitt in front of French.

Judge Colin
Judge Colin's Wife, Elizabeth Savitt



















Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together

2 comments:

StandUp said...

We have always pretty much known this type of thing, but it's good to see it in the press where it can't be denied.

Annerkeei said...

Pretty sad state of affairs when money to pay for a Caribbean cruise must be stolen from the elderly under the guise of law.