Judge Fined $10K For Using 'One Of The Worst Profanities Known To The English Language'
This judge just learned that cursing can be pretty expensive.
Earlier this week, the Florida Supreme Court doled out a harsh reprimand to a Miami-Dade County judge who made the mistake of threatening to sue a store owner and politely telling him to “go f*ck himself” during an argument over whether she would be allowed to display her judicial campaign sign in his shop.
A public scolding was just part of the punishment Judge Jacqueline Schwartz received for her ethical lapses, which also included interfering with public records in an unrelated case by having her bailiff remove pages from a case file that she’d marked up. Earlier this year, the Florida Supremes ordered that Judge Schwartz be suspended from her duties for 30 days without pay, write an apology letter to the store owner, and be issued a $10,000 fine for her coarse words. Ouch, that’s a pricey penalty.
Chief Justice Jorge Labarga of Florida’s highest court publicly admonished Schwartz yesterday morning, going on for seven minutes before dismissing the teary-eyed judge. She wasn’t given a chance to speak. The Tampa Bay Times has the details:
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Chief Justice Labarga admonished Schwartz for her use of “one of the worst profanities known to the English language,” which he said violated the public’s trust in her. …
“The effectiveness of our judiciary rests ultimately on the trust and confidence that the people confer upon judges,” Labarga said. “When you curse a resident of this state using such language, that resident and the public at large correctly question the soundness of your judgment as the holder of judicial office.”
He added, in regards to the second matter: “Judges are not privileged simply to erase their potential mistakes from the public record. This misconduct we cannot and will not tolerate.”
Schwartz’s suspension began on November 6, and she’ll be returning to the bench this coming Monday. Hopefully she’ll be able to tamp down on her use of four-letter curse words, because at $2,500 per letter, telling someone to f*ck off can get pretty expensive.
Miami-Dade judge who swore at store clerk scolded by Supreme Court [Tampa Bay Times]
Teary-Eyed Judge Schwartz Reprimanded by High Court [Daily Business Review]
Judge reprimanded for using ‘one of the worst profanities known to the English language,’ fined $10K [ABA Journal]