Albert Kelley

This judge had every opportunity to act with integrity, compassion, and fairness—and instead, he chose silence, avoidance, and systemic bias. I was struck by a vehicle while riding my scooter, severely injured, and airlifted by LifeFlight. I underwent emergency surgery, faced multiple complications, and have experienced ongoing physical and emotional trauma. Every detail of this suffering was outlined—twice—in a notarized affidavit and a compassionate plea submitted to Judge Kelley well before trial. His response? None. No acknowledgment. No comment. No compassion. Despite having weeks to review my sworn affidavit and motion to dismiss, his judicial assistant confirmed it wouldn’t even be looked at until the morning of the trial. This was not an oversight—it was deliberate neglect of duty and basic human decency. To make matters worse, the ticket was issued by an officer who never witnessed the incident, conducted no investigation, and relied solely on the word of the driver who hit me. That same driver—clearly a biased party—was incorrectly elevated to the role of “witness,” and not subpoenaed until after the original court date, yet the judge enabled this procedural failure by rescheduling the case and siding with the state. The citation should have been voided. The case should have been dismissed. Disciplinary action should have been taken against the officer who submitted a one-sided, baseless report. Instead, Judge Kelley ignored all facts, all filings, and all suffering—and ruled in favor of law enforcement without even questioning the legitimacy of the ticket or the gross errors in procedure. This judge is not neutral. He is not thorough. And he is certainly not compassionate. His courtroom is a place where injured citizens are ignored and procedure is manipulated to protect the state, not the people. If you’re looking for justice, you won’t find it in Judge Kelley’s courtroom. What you’ll find is rubber-stamped rulings, unchecked bias

Judge Kelley does not favor either party in his courtroom. He listens, inquires on the issues, knows the law, and rules on the case. Judge Kelley has published books, so he plainly is not a slouch, who is just trying to make it through the day and get home. I have not read the books, so I cannot opine on them, but few people (including judges) are not even inclined to consider the monumental task of a book. Judge Kelley has a great temperament, even in criminal cases (I was in the courtroom when a criminal case was being heard) and Judge Kelley wasn't hardened as so many judges are, who have a god-complex, and both sides were given ample opportunity to put on their case, even in that case which required an interpreter, which makes everything that much more challenging for all in the courtroom. Judge Kelley is also out and about in the community, unlike every other judge in Key West, and he is personable on the street. More judges should note and follow Judge Kelley's demeanor. More judges should attempt to be unbiased jurists, irrelevant of what their background is, such as a former prosecutor etc. Hopefully, Judge Kelley wants to remain on the bench until he retires, which the citizens of Monroe County need and deserve, and his even-keeled and unbiased temperament along with his extensive knowledge of the law will benefit all.