Judge’s 90-Day Suspension Rejected By Supreme Ct
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Broward Circuit Judge Lynn Rosenthal’s 90-day suspension for a drunk driving arrest was rejected today by the Florida Supreme Court.
Justices want to hear more evidence “to fully develop the facts regarding any misconduct that occurred during the criminal investigation and the Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation,” according to the judicial order released today.
Judge Lynn Rosenthal
Some in the courthouse believed Rosenthal received a mere slap on the wrist from the JQC, who had recommended the 90-day suspension.
JAABlog, the influential courthouse website, called the sentence “preposterous.”
The belief the JQC treated her lightly was due to what their investigators found the judge did:
* Refused to take a urine or blood sample when she was detained for drunk driving in May 27, 2014 after hitting a patrol car and the gate at the courthouse parking lot.
* Failed to preserve a video of her swerving in traffic and colliding with a wall on the highway on her way to work the same day. Her husband erased the video.
* Made “misleading or incomplete statements” to the commission. For instance, she told the commission in December she wasn’t taking any medications, but conceded six months later that she took drugs daily.
Rosenthal was initially charged with DUI, but later the charges were reduced to reckless driving after she produced evidence that her doctor had prescribed Ambien. She entered a no-contest plea.
Here is the Supremes order:
September 8th, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Which says more about Broward County – that its voters reelected Judge Rosenthal as she had no serious opposition – or the “highly respected” judicial oversight group was smacked down for shallowness by the State Supreme Court?
September 8th, 2015 at 6:48 pm
This is not shocking, as the JQC and the agreement made no sense.
Who is on the JQC? Is it the same group who sent Rick Scott the names of some extremely unqualified names for Judicial Appointment?