Another questionable judge

Judge Martin Colin is the second Palm Beach County Judge in the last two months to be accused of assault and or battery. Two months ago Judge Lucy Chernow Brown was accused of assaulting a court baliff. No charges were filed in the end.

In this case Judge Colin is being accused of holding a 12-year-old boy's head under water after the boy shot a newsaper he was reading with a water pistol. There are several other twists to this story. The boy is the son of a woman the Judge is dating and who he represented less than a year ago in her divorce with her now ex-husband. The ex-husband Jay Gordon is one who took his son to Delray Beach police where the boy filed a criminal complaint.

All seems a little cozy. This judge involved with a former client. Probably happens all the time but you have to wonder if this started when he was representing Elizabeth Savitt. There is a great deal of personal involvement in this story which leaves me wondering whether this man should even be on the bench.

The entire Palm Beach Post story can be found at- http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/06/18/s1b_judge_0618.html

Judge investigated over incident with girlfriend's son
By John Pacenti
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 18, 2005

What started off as seeming pool-side shenanigans on Mother's Day has escalated into a police investigation of a Palm Beach County circuit judge.

Judge Martin Colin is accused of holding his girlfriend's 12-year-old son underwater for up to 10 seconds after the boy squirted the newspaper Colin was reading with a water pistol, according to a police report.

The Delray Police Department has forwarded the case to State Attorney Barry Krischer's office for a determination on whether Colin should be charged with misdemeanor battery.

Colin's attorney, Scott Richardson, said Colin did nothing wrong to the child and that the judge is being victimized by the boy's father.

Jay Gordon, the ex-husband of Elizabeth Savitt, took his son to the police department on May 10 to file a complaint against Colin.

The episode is the latest twist in the Gordon-Savitt split. Colin, before becoming a judge, represented Savitt in the divorce. After the divorce, they became romantically involved. Colin had continued to represent her in child-custody matters.

Gordon complained to the Florida Bar. But it ended its investigation last year, saying it no longer had jurisdiction because Colin had been elected judge. After 30 years as a lawyer, he became a family court judge in January.

Last fall, Judge Jeffrey Colbath chastised Colin for using the court system to "intimidate and bully Mr. Gordon." In December, Gordon was sentenced to 30 days in jail for violating an order limiting contact with his ex-wife.

"I had no chance in the system with Martin Colin," Gordon said. "I'm playing on his field with his ball with his rules."

On May 8, Colin, Savitt, her son and others gathered at a friend's house to eat and swim. The boy told police he had soaked Colin's newspaper as a joke.

Colin then entered the pool and picked him up "with his face towards the sky, like a baby cradle." The boy said he told Colin, "Get the (expletive) off me," and that Colin "threw him into the water and he landed on his side, which hurt his ear," according to the police report.

The boy said he cursed at Colin after the judge insulted his father — and that's when Colin dunked him. The boy's 13-year-old friend corroborated his account, according to the police report.

Colin declined to give a statement to police. Savitt told police she did not see what happened but felt Colin did not do anything inappropriate.

Gordon said he plans to file a complaint with the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which disciplines judges.