Prosecutors have dropped a criminal investigation into Broward Judge Kristin Kanner over a complaint about an “unlawful child pick-up order,” saying it does not allege a violation of criminal law, according to a letter sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday.
The governor had assigned the investigation to the State Attorney’s Office for the 20th judicial circuit in Southwest Florida to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest with the Broward State Attorney’s Office, Kanner’s former employer.
Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Shannon Doolity began investigating Kanner in late June, according to the State Attorney’s Office letter, which does provide further details on the case involving the pick-up order or who filed the complaint. A little over a month later, Doolity determined that “the complaint does not allege a violation of state criminal statutes,” the letter states.
Kanner was appointed by DeSantis in 2023 and has served in the Family Court division of the Broward Circuit Court for the past two years. Gregg Rossman, Kanner’s attorney, declined to provide details about the case that spurred the complaint but said it came from a parent who was upset with an order Kanner had issued involving her child, even though it was lawful, a common occurrence in contentious family court cases.
“It’s the toughest division to be in,” Rossman, who worked with Kanner in the Broward State Attorney’s office, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Saturday. “Every day you’re asked to split hairs between who does or doesn’t get children, who wrongfully moved the children or took the children.”
Kanner has since recused herself from the case. But Rossman said no one notified her of the complaint initially, which led her to stay on the case for longer than she should have.
“I think there were mistakes made and it was mishandled in a lot of ways,” he said.
The investigation into Kanner came as four other Broward judges faced discipline this year for misconduct allegations. One of them, Judge Gary Farmer, submitted his resignation letter on Friday.
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