Chris Crowley, a conservative attorney in Florida, filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last month contesting a 60-day suspension of his law license for exercising free speech during his political campaign for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit. His attorney said this is the first time an attorney has been disciplined for partisan political speech in Florida, and likely anywhere in the U.S.
Crowley, a decorated Gulf War veteran, said the Florida Bar should be subject to the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which prohibits using the courts to suppress free speech. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
A Referee for the bar disciplined him for referring to his opponent Amira D. Fox, who eventually won, as “corrupt” and “swampy” and for observing that she had “close family ties to the [Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)] terrorist organization.”
Fox’s uncle served on the executive committee for the PLO, her father said in an autobiography titled “From Palestine to America.” An investigation found that “Fox campaigned during working hours,” and she admitted “that she was required to repay $1,458.00 to the State after receiving pay for time exceeding her allowed leave after human resources raised the issue of her overpayment.”
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