On February 25, 2015, the Supreme Court of Florida imposed a thirty-day suspension without pay on a Seminole County Judge for using social media during her husband’s judicial campaign to “seek the assistance of her friends to help her husband correct perceived misstatement by his judicial opponent about [her] pending JQC matter.” Facebook
The thirty-day suspension amounts to $11,500 in lost pay. The high court rejected an agreement between the Judge and the Judicial Qualifications Commission (“JQC”), an agency that investigates alleged judicial misconduct, to not impose additional discipline.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Court had already scheduled a public reprimand and a $25,000 fine against the Judge for a previous stipulation in an unrelated matter during her campaign for judicial office. The Court decided to treat the two cases against the Judge as separate violations warranting separate disciplinary action. The Court’s order gave both the Judge and the JQC thirty days to accept or reject the suspension.
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