A white DeLand attorney who is seeking to unseat the only black judge in the 7th Circuit has been accused of defamation for comments he wrote about attorneys who have made campaign contributions to the judge, according to a lawsuit.
Steven R. Burk, who handles criminal and civil cases, is challenging County Judge Dawn P. Fields – the only black among the 42 judges in the 7th Circuit covering Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam Counties.
Kimberly P. Simoes and the law firms of Simoes Davila, the Simoes Law Group and Simoes Davila & Partners, filed a lawsuit this week accusing Burk of defamation by making "wild accusations" and "thinly veiled implications of nefarious behavior." They also filed a motion asking a judge to order Burk to stop interfering with the Simoes law firms' business by making the "false and defamatory statements.”
Read the lawsuit against Steven Burk
Simoes’ lawsuit cites a March 25, 2018 letter Burk wrote to Fields in which Burk described a conversation with his wife, Kathy, discussing Fields' campaign. Burk wrote that his wife said that Simoes Davila were bringing their cases to a judge they “bought and paid for." The lawsuit accuses Burk of suggesting that Simoes Davila broke finance campaign laws and "contributed to judicial campaigns to 'improve their odds in the courtroom.' "
Letter from Steven Burk to Judge Fields | Letter from Steven Burk to Laura Roth about the Simoes Davila firm and the Simoes Law Group
The lawsuit also states that Burk posted a message on his personal Facebook implying that Simoes and Simoes Davila law firms' “campaign contributions are tied to the award of attorney’s fees.”
Simoes and Davila are not the only ones who don’t care for Burk's writings. Fields isn't pleased, either.
“It’s so disingenuous to even suggest any judge in this county had any improper motive, unethical motive, illegal motive, immoral motive for receiving funds,” Fields said.
Fields, who has collected the least of any county judge candidate in Volusia or Flagler, said she wondered why Burk singled her out over campaign contributions.
"I’ve raised the least amount of money. The least. So what’s egregious?" Fields said.
Simoes issued a statement last week through her attorney, Kevin A. Reck.
“Ms. Simoes filed the lawsuit to protect the integrity of her reputation in the community, the reputation of her law firms, to protect her and her law firms business interest and to shed light on the allegations of defamation against Mr. Burk as set forth in the complaint. And Ms. Simoes looks forward to receiving her day in court and out of respect for the integrity of the judicial process she won’t have further comment until there are substantive developments in the lawsuit,” Reck said.
Reck added: "If my client thinks a judge is a good judge or a candidate would make a good judge, then they donate to judicial campaigns."
Reached by The News-Journal, attorney Julio David Davila of Simoes & Davila said the firm would not ignore Burk's allegations.
“If anybody wants to throw false accusations out there we are going to use whatever avenues we have under the law to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Davila said.
After making that statement, Davila then told a reporter not to use it. Told the statement was made on the record, Davila threatened to sue the reporter if it was published.
Burk said in a phone interview that he stood by his writings which are exhibits in the lawsuit against him.
"I stand by what they have attached in their exhibits," Burk said.
Burk said that while Simoes and her firms are following campaign contribution laws, the large donations to Fields don't look good.
“It just looks bad. It looks really bad,” Burk said.
Contributions and cases
But campaign finance records indicate that it's not unusual for attorneys to contribute to judges' campaigns.
Attorneys and law firms have contributed to a number of the campaigns of circuit judges who are up for reelection, records show. County judges other than Fields who are running for reelection also have received money from attorney.
Fields had received $2,600 as of her March 31 report. Of that, Simoes Davila in Longwood contributed $1,000 to Fields’ campaign, and Simoes Law Group in DeLand also contributed $1,000. The judge received another $500 contribution from Infectious Diseases of Mid-Florida in Daytona Beach. She also received $100 from her father, Willie Fields of Daytona Beach.
Records indicate other incumbent judges up for reelection have received for more contributions than Fields as of March 31.
Flagler County Judge D. Melissa Moore Stens had $63,137 in her campaign, although nearly all of that money came from a $60,000 loan Moore Stens made to herself. She also received $1,000 from Simoes Law Group, and Kimberly Simoes has contributed another $1,000 to Moore Stens.
Volusia County Judge Bryan Feigenbaum had received $18,611 as of March 31, including a $7,000 loan to himself. Feigenbaum also received $1,000 each from Simoes Davila and Simoes Law Group.
Volusia County Judge Belle Schumann has collected $19,827.80, including $5,500 in loans to herself.
County Judge Christopher Kelly has received $41,175, including a $10,000 loan to himself. Kelly has also received $1,000 from Simoes Davila in Longwood.
So why if Burk is trying to make a point about money in judicial campaigns did he pick on the judge with the least amount in her campaign coffers? For example, why not take on Kelly, who has 15 times as much money as Fields?.
“I’m not going to run against Kelly, 'cause he’d beat my pants off,” Burk said.
AHe said he also didn’t want to take on Feigenbaum.
“I had cases against Judge Feigenbaum when he was a state attorney," he said.
As for Fields, "I think that my qualifications are substantially better than Judge Fields,” Burk said.
Burk ran for judge in 2012 before he lost in the primary in a race that Kelly eventually won.
Burk accepted some contributions from attorneys in 2012, but the bulk of the money he spent was his own. He loaned his campaign $12,000 of the $16,136 in contributions.
But this time around, Burk — who said he sold his Harley-Davidson to pay the $5,520.80 filing fee — insisted he won't accept money from anyone who might stand before him in court. He said so far he has loaned himself $7,500 for his campaign.
In an email, Burk described himself as a "reformed sinner," and also wrote, "I am keenly aware of the issues of influence that lawyer contributions into judicial campaign accounts can have, or appear to have."
“My campaign will not take money from a lawyer, a law firm or anyone else that’s likely to have business in front of the court,” Burk said in an interview.
The only black judge
Fields is one of only two minority judges in the 7th Circuit. The other is Chief Judge Raul Zambrano, who was born in Panama and is Hispanic.
A 1976 graduate of Father Lopez High School, Fields taught high school math before becoming an attorney, and worked as a prosecutor before winning a seat on the bench.
Fields said she is the second most senior county judge in Volusia County. In an interview, she wondered why Burk has decided to run against her.
"Why me? There has to be some reason," Fields said. "And you are worried about perception? What’s the perception about running against the last black judge?"
She said it's good for minorities to have a minority on the bench.
"Just the fact that I’m here, a hometown girl, and I’m a minority, a black female. I serve as an example to a population that others could not reach," Fields said. "And we need that representation and encouragement for the young people in our society."
Fields said she's been a good judge for everyone.
"I’ve served the public with responsibility, respect, knowledge," she said. "I’ve been ethical, I’ve been moral, I’ve been professional. And I intend to do so for the next term."
Burk said he regrets that Fields is the only black judge in the circuit.
“I think diversity in society is a good thing,” Burk said adding that he has a bi-racial daughter from a relationship with an black woman after he finished law school.
He added that he didn’t take into account that Fields is the last black judge in the circuit when he decided to run against her.
“I’m not considering skin color," Burk said. "I’m looking at qualifications, and honestly I’d be just as happy if I didn’t win, because my actions have already created a stir in the courthouse.”