Confidentiality

The Florida Judicial Wellness Program (FJWP) has formed a special subcommittee which has been charged with the assignment to propose and pursue a level of protection and confidentiality, by law or rule, in certain instances where judges seek voluntary assistance with wellness issues.

Currently records, proceedings, and all communications by and between an individual seeking assistance and the Florida Judicial Wellness Program or the Florida Lawyer Assistance Program is NOT deemed confidential and may be subject to disclosure or made available through court subpoena.

A judge that has voluntarily sought, received, or accepted treatment for chemical dependency or psychological problems is NOT confidential and may be admitted as evidence in disciplinary proceedings as there currently is no rule or statute which provides otherwise.

In an attempt to ensure that all calls made to the FJWP Hotline and any subsequent communications made to an FJWP liaison will remain strictly confidential, a Judge need not give her/his real name and may use voice distortion if there are concerns about voice recognition. Additionally, the FJWP does not keep any logs or records of communications made between the judge and the program. In order to measure the rate of usage for the hotline and the FJWP, FLA personnel as the initial point of contact will receive the call and measure the call only as 1) a FJWP contact call and 2) if applicable, a referral made to FJWP, but neither FLA nor FJWP may keep records of the name, telephone number or information given by or to the judge.