Baugh's Counsel Granted Continuance of Ethics Hearing
Posted
Dawn Kitterman
TALLAHASSEE – On Monday, Administrative Law Judge Linzie F. Bogan granted Commissioner Vanessa Baugh’s legal team a continuance of the ethics proceeding that was scheduled to be held on August 9. Attorneys for Baugh filed the request with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings on July 14.
The request for a continuance was without objection from the advocate for the Florida Commission on Ethics who will argue the case on behalf of the state that Baugh violated ethics laws for her part in a state-organized vaccine pop-up site held at Premier Sports Complex in 2021.
In a December 2021 order, the Florida Commission on Ethics pointed to two sections of Florida statute as portions reflecting probable ethics violations by the commissioner.
The commission found that there was probable cause to believe that Article II, Section 8(g)(2) of the Florida Constitution was violated by Commissioner Baugh when she put her name at the top of a list of recipients to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The commission also found that based on the preliminary investigation of the complaints and on the second amended recommendation of the commission's advocate, there was probable cause to believe that Baugh also violated Section 112.313(6) of Florida Statutes by using–or attempting to use–her public position and/or resources in order to deviate from Manatee County's COVID-19 random lottery pool for vaccination appointments to restrict access to the State-provided vaccines to only constituents of her own district.
Having found probable cause, the Florida Commission on Ethics issued a formal notice for an administrative evidentiary hearing, previously scheduled for August 9-11.
Baugh's attorneys requested a sixty-day continuance of the final hearing, though the order granting the continuance issued by Judge Bogan stated the parties shall "confer and advise the undersigned in writing no later than July 22, 2022, as to the status of this matter and as to the length of time required for the final hearing."
Counsel for Baugh stated the need for the continuance was due to a "number of witnesses which need to be deposed" by her counsel and that those depositions are taking more time than anticipated.
A sixty-day delay, if ultimately approved, would have the hearing rescheduled for Monday, October 10, 2022–after the August primary elections.
In response to the cancellation of the previous set date, Florida Commission on Ethics Advocate Elizabeth A. Miller filed notice with the court that she would be unavailable for any depositions or rescheduled hearing dates between July 25 and July 29.
To view all public filings related to case NO.22-000925EC, RE: Vanessa Baugh on the DOAH website, visit here.
To read past reporting by TBT related to this update clickhere and here.
editor's note: a correction was made to this article to correct the reported date of the ethics hearing which was canceled. An earlier version of this reporting contained an error in the month, stating the date of the canceled hearing was July 9. The reporting now reflects the correct date as August 9.
Comments
No comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.