The Tallahassee Bar Association issued a statement in response to calls for the impeachment of Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, saying members “strongly support” an independent judiciary.
In a mildly worded three-paragraph statement released April 14, the TBA board of directors didn’t specifically mention Baker-Carper or Gov. Ron DeSantis or Attorney General James Uthmeier, both of whom recently called for her impeachment.
The board said it unequivocally condemns any calls for violence against members of the judiciary and added that threats and intimidation directed at judges “undermines the rule of law and have no place in our society.”
“As a collective, we strongly support the independence of the judiciary,” the board said. “An impartial and independent judiciary is essential to maintaining the public trust and upholding the principles of justice on which our legal system depends.”
DeSantis called for Baker-Carper’s impeachment on March 31 during an event in Tampa when he signed “Missy’s Law,” which Uthmeier proposed last year after the killing of Missy Mogle. Her mother, Chloe Spencer, and stepfather, Daniel Spencer, have been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
At the time of her death, Daniel Spencer was out of jail after his conviction a month earlier for traveling to meet a minor. Baker-Carper opted to let him remain free on bond while he awaited sentencing.
Before doing so, however, she asked the prosecutor whether she needed to be “enlightened” by anything involving the defendant. The prosecutor didn’t mention, and it’s unclear whether she knew, about previous allegations against the stepfather that he had molested Missy and abused his wife.
The Tallahassee Police Department and the Florida Department of Children and Families both investigated the molestation allegations in 2024, less than a year before Missy died. TPD, in consultation with the State Attorney’s Office, didn’t pursue charges. DCF signed off on a power of attorney that saw Missy handed to a family friend only for her to be returned later to her alleged killers.
Missy’s death, the GOP-backed legislation that followed and criticism of the judge, first expressed publicly by State Attorney Jack Campbell, have divided the local bar. After Missy’s death, Campbell blasted Baker-Carper and said Missy would be alive were it not for her decision.
Tallahassee attorney Adam Ellis said in an email that after Baker-Carper’s decision to release Daniel Spencer, the state took no further action to take away his freedom. Adam Ellis, whose wife, Liz Desloge Ellis, serves as TBA board president, lays blame for Missy’s death at Campbell’s feet.
He said Campbell could have filed a motion to reconsider or revoke bond and set out all the reasons why Spencer shouldn’t have been released.
“Jack eventually did this … but he waited until after Missy was already gone,” Adam Ellis wrote in an email. “There was nothing preventing Jack from filing that motion prior to Missy’s death if he really felt so strongly about it.”
In related developments, lawyers for Daniel Spencer filed a motion April 9 asking for Baker-Carper to be disqualified as judge in both the murder trial and his sex sting conviction. Charles Collins, a Monticello attorney, wrote that the judge’s decision to release him on bond had become a “hot topic” since the impeachment calls.
“Due to these circumstances, the defendant fears that he will not receive a fair trial from the current judge,” he wrote.
On April 3, seven bar associations issued a statement supporting Baker-Carper: the Caribbean Bar Association, the D.W. Perkins Bar Association, the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association, the Haitian Lawyers Association, the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association, the Treasure Coast Bar Association and the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter National Bar Association.
The Tallahassee Barristers Association, an organization of Black lawyers, has yet to weigh in on the matter. Baker-Carper, the youngest woman and African American elected to the 2nd Judicial Circuit, has not drawn an opponent in her re-election bid.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Bar issues statement on calls for judge’s impeachment amid dissension
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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