This is the full text of what Circuit Judge Roberto M. Pineiro said Wednesday at the sentencing hearing of former Miami Commissioner Humberto Hernandez Jr., convicted last week of helping to cover up vote fraud in last fall's Miami election.

Pineiro came to the United States from Cuba when he was 5 years old. He attended Miami-Dade Community College, the University of Miami and Duke University Law School before becoming an assistant state attorney. He was appointed to the county bench in 1989, and to the circuit bench in 1996.

This is his order:

Mr. Hernandez, you are fortunate in the love and friendship of your many friends who have spoken so eloquently on your behalf. You are fortunate in the love of your wife who has stood so closely by you every day of this trial. Her feelings for you would be obvious even to a blind man. You have the support of a large portion of this community who have trusted you enough to elect you to public office. In imposing a sentence the nature of the man is of course taken into account and all I have heard today from your many supporters speaks well for you.

The nature of the crime must also be factored in. Mr. Hernandez, you were convicted of a misdemeanor -- one of the least serious of crimes. A crime for which the maximum penalty is less than a year in jail. However, I cannot envision a more felonious misdemeanor than the one you were convicted of. You, sir, were convicted of helping to cover up a vote fraud so massive that it led to the overturning of a mayoral election.

As Americans we are fortunate to live in a country that is able to guarantee ``liberty and justice for all.'' But that assurance is evanescent, at best, without a strong democracy to give it substance. Our elections must be fair, free and untainted by even the hint of fraud to ensure the continued existence of that democracy. You sought to destroy all this simply for your political advantage. Your actions in participating in this coverup cannot be tolerated. But you went further.

You tried to mask the stench of a corrupt election by creating an even greater stink. You tried to deflect the focus of the vote-fraud investigation by playing what has come to be known as the ``race card'' -- claiming that you were targeted because of your ethnic background. Sadly, you were willing to polarize our community in order to save your political power. This is unconscionable.

The only appropriate punishment for a crime, such as this, that strikes at the heart of our society, is the maximum punishment provided by law. As such, Mr. Hernandez, I adjudicate you guilty and sentence you to serve 364 days in the county jail and all appropriate courts costs including $150 court assessment fund.