President of Florida Bar defends judge in Jameis Winston hearing

The president of The Florida Bar released a statement Tuesday defending retired state Supreme Court Justice Major Harding a day after a lawyer for a woman who accused FSU quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault alleged a code of conduct hearing conducted by Harding was biased.

Harding is "one of the most highly respected lawyers in Florida and in the United States. To say that he is anything but thoroughly unbiased and of the highest integrity is unacceptable," said Gregory W. Coleman in a statement.

His remarks come after Baine Kerr, a Title IX attorney for the woman, criticized the decision made by Harding in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday.

Harding's ruling that Winston did not violate FSU's student conduct code was released on Sunday, with the 79-year-old former judge writing that the evidence presented did not meet the preponderance of evidence standard needed for him to find Winston responsible.

"I don't want to impugn the proceeding as corrupt, but I think it was biased and the fix was in," Kerr told the AP. "It's all about a football game 10 days from (Monday). It turned out to be just a predetermined whitewash to keep a guy playing football."

Coleman, who practices in West Palm Beach, Fla., said in his statement that he felt obligated to respond to Kerr's comments and defend Harding, whom he has known for nearly 20 years.

"His reputation and integrity are beyond question and thousands of lawyers would agree," Coleman said. "FSU President John Thrasher's recognition of Harding for conducting a thorough hearing was on target. Kerr's comments were completely off-base and irresponsible."

FSU notified Winston in October that it would bring in an outside, third party to determine if the Dec. 7, 2012, sexual encounter between Winston and a former female FSU student had violated its code of conduct. Harding was one of three retired jurists who agreed to hear the case and was chosen after each side had the opportunity to strike a candidate from consideration.

Harding conducted a hearing using FSU policies on Dec. 2-3.

Kerr said Harding's decision did not properly address the question of consent, which FSU's code states "is not freely given if no clear verbal consent is given."

Winston initially declined to answer questions, as is permitted by FSU, but did respond to three from Harding on the issue of consent, according to a copy of the hearing transcript obtained by Paste BN Sports.

Winston said the woman consented verbally and physically by "moaning."

"It was not an impartial ruling," Kerr told AP. "It was a ruling that went to great lengths and improper lengths to try to find a way to exonerate Winston."

In his statement, Coleman said, "It is unfortunate that Kerr chose to attack someone like former Supreme Court Justice Harding. I would caution Kerr to follow his oath as an attorney to be professional and to maintain the respect due to all who are unquestionably dedicated to fairness and impartiality."