County Judge Lauren Peffer Faces Charges Over Fabricated Phone Call

An investigative panel on Friday accused a Broward County judge of violating judicial canons and “perpetuating a false perception of illegal, unethical or immoral” conduct by relying on a fake recording of Florida Supreme Court justices as she campaigned last year.

The panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission filed what is known as a “notice of formal charges” against Judge Lauren Peffer, who was elected in August. The notice said that, while seeking a “valuable endorsement” from the editorial board of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Peffer stated that “recent revelations” from the 9th Judicial Circuit, which includes Orange and Osceola counties, “have highlighted an image crisis within Florida’s judiciary.”

Peffer initially relied on an e-book by a former employee of the circuit, which accused judges of corruption. When the editorial board asked Peffer for more information, she provided a link to a “fabricated phone call” between two justices — Chief Justice Carlos Muniz and Justice Renatha Francis — and the 9th Circuit’s chief judge, Lisa Munyon, Friday’s notice said. The notice accused Peffer of failing to “exercise due diligence to ascertain whether the recording was fabricated before using it publicly” to help her campaign.

“The recording is fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative-AI. While the voices resemble those of the purported participants, the manner of speech, tone, and much of the content are objectively unrealistic,” the notice said. Peffer’s “campaign theme was to restore the public’s trust, but your behavior did the opposite and brought harm to the dignity and integrity of the judiciary,” Henry Coxe, an attorney for the investigative panel, wrote in the notice addressed to Peffer.

“Artificially created deepfakes are a tool for misinformation and digital impersonation used to influence elections and spread disinformation. … Rather than promote public confidence in the judiciary, your actions eroded public confidence by perpetuating a false perception of illegal, unethical, or immoral conduct by justices of the Florida Supreme Court, a chief judge, and others working within the judicial branch,” the notice said.

Peffer admitted to listening to a portion of the recording and sharing it publicly “despite clear evidence of its inauthenticity,” according to the notice. Peffer has 20 days to respond to the allegations filed Friday at the Florida Supreme Court, which oversees judicial wrongdoing and can issue sanctions.

–News Service of Florida