A judge has dismissed the criminal perjury charge against former Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, his lawyer said Tuesday morning.
Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein emailed the decision to the prosecution and defense lawyers Tuesday morning, Runcie’s lawyer Mike Dutko said.
A grand jury that was investigating the operations of the school district indicted Runcie in April 2021, saying he had lied to the grand jury about being prepped for his testimony.
Runcie’s lawyers had argued that the grand jury had no jurisdiction to prosecute Runcie, because the matter was limited to one jurisdiction, and the grand jury was supposed to deal with matters spanning multiple jurisdictions, and the type of conduct he was accused of, perjury, was outside the grand jury’s purview.
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“I think the judge did the intellectually correct thing, which sometimes against a political backdrop takes a bit of courage,” Dutko told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Two other grand jury cases are still active. Former General Counsel Barbara Myrick was indicted on a charge of illegally disclosing secret grand jury material. She has pleaded not guilty.
Former Technology Chief Anthony Hunter was originally charged with bid rigging and illegal acceptance of compensation for a public official, but the bid-rigging charge was dropped last year. He has pleaded not guilty.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.