Up until yesterday, you could have ended up strip-searched and in jail if you showed up late for traffic court in one Florida judge's courtroom.
Fortunately, those speeders and people with expired tags can breathe easier. The judge has been removed from the bench.
A judge who jailed 11 people because they were late for traffic court after being directed to the wrong courtroom lost his job Thursday. The Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled he was unfit to remain on the bench.
The justices said the jailing and strip searching of the 11 misdirected motorists capped a series of complaints of intemperate conduct against Seminole County Judge John Sloop, 57, of Sanford, Fla...
The justices also offered an apology on behalf of the judicial system to the citizens of Florida and Seminole County and in particular the 11 jailed defendants. They came to court on traffic citations ranging from driving with a suspended license to having an illegal tag.
It's amazing the pompous behavior some judges will display. Here in Texas, improper courtroom decorum is part of the stock and trade. But fortunately for Florida, their court has decided such extreme measures are no longer warranted.
What was the judge's defense for his extreme behavior?
Sloop admitted he violated judicial canons in all three cases. At a Judicial Qualifications Commission hearing Sloop blamed his behavior on undiagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and said he had since received treatment for his ADHD.
I'm not quite sure how having ADHD compels a person to order defendants jailed and strip-searched. I guess the Florida Supreme Court couldn't see that either. But I guess the judge will have a lot of time now to get a handle on his condition.
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