Opinion ID: 1943296
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Appropriate Sanction in this Case

Text: We conclude from the evidence presented to the JQC Hearing Panel that Judge Sloop has irreparably damaged public confidence in his judicial authority, and that he lacks the proper judicial temperament and judgment necessary to continue to serve as a judicial officer. Although we rely on all the misconduct established in the JQC hearing as well as Judge Sloop's disregard of prior warnings concerning his demeanor, we focus primarily on the evidence in Count One of his failure to promptly order the release of the eleven citizens who had been directed to the wrong courtroom. Before addressing Count One, we briefly discuss Count Four. Judge Sloop's shortcomings in both temperament and judgment were on vivid display in his condescending tirade against Ms. Mercano. As alleged by the Investigative Panel, Judge Sloop was rude, abrupt, and abusive in his treatment of this defendant, and acted more like a prosecutor than a court judge. [3] Judge Sloop asserts that his conduct was purposeful and that he did not lose his temper. We are not sure which explanation is worse. Either way, his conduct violated a basic tenet of the Code of Judicial Conduct. A judge who cannot control his or her temper, or who acts disrespectfully to litigants, directly contravenes the command in Canon 3 B(4) of the Code of Judicial Conduct that [a] judge shall be patient, dignified, and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity. Standing alone, Judge Sloop's misconduct in Count Four might have warranted a sanction short of removal. However, his abusive treatment of Ms. Mercano is merely the latest episode in a judicial career marred by displays of anger that have resulted in warnings by the JQC and fellow judges to Judge Sloop concerning his temper. When a judge continuously acts in a manner to undermine [public] confidence, drastic remedial action, including removal from the bench, is required. In re Trettis, 577 So.2d 1312, 1313 (Fla. 1991). We acknowledge that in the past, we have imposed sanctions short of removal for judges who have repeatedly engaged in rude, abusive, or insulting behavior and then taken or agreed to steps to ameliorate the problem. See Woodard, 919 So.2d at 392 (approving stipulated sanction of public reprimand and suitable anger management counseling); In re Schapiro, 845 So.2d 170, 173-74 (Fla.2003) (approving stipulated discipline of public reprimand, public apology, and participation in psychological/behavioral therapy with emphasis on sensitivity training); In re Schwartz, 755 So.2d 110, 114-15 (Fla.2000) (approving stipulated recommendation of public reprimand for judge who apologized for intemperate or discourteous conduct, and undertook a program of personal counseling and stress management); Wood, 720 So.2d at 509 (approving stipulated sanction of public reprimand for judge who made assurances he would continue course of medical treatment and anger management control until no longer necessary). Significantly, each of those cases involved a stipulation. Here, in contrast, the JQC Investigative Panel advocated for the offending judge's removal from the bench. We need not decide whether Judge Sloop's tirade in October 2004 alone warrants removal, because it serves as a mere prelude to his much graver misconduct occurring less than two months later when he failed to halt the unjustified arrest and incarceration of eleven citizens on arrest warrants he had issued. A trial court's authority to order the arrests of persons who fail to appear pursuant to a summons or notice to appear carries a grave responsibility to exercise appropriate judicial restraint. Judge Sloop failed utterly in this regard. Although we do not fault him for issuing warrants when the individuals failed to appear when their cases were called, the gravamen of this offense is his failure to rescind the arrest warrants once he learned from two fellow judges and a bailiff that the eleven persons had been directed to the wrong courtroom. How did Judge Sloop react, faced with this knowledge? As found by the Hearing Panel, he left the courthouse during the noon recess on a personal errand. Not only did he fail to immediately take action to rescind the arrest warrants; the testimony shows he just did not care. It was only after he returned from his personal errand that he was finally convinced that the eleven individuals should be released. But as the Hearing Panel concluded, by then another judge had prepared the paperwork and the chief judge was also taking steps to get the citizens released. Further, we can and do fault Judge Sloop for failing to follow up on his release orders, once issued, to ensure that they were promptly executed. Because he failed to personally ensure the citizens' prompt release, all eleven were subjected to jail intake procedures that included a strip search, and were not released until 9:00 that evening. The Hearing Panel gave credence to testimony that Judge Sloop was suffering from untreated ADHD when this incident occurred. However, Judge Sloop's indifference over hours and then days to the plight of the eleven persons arrested cannot be fully explained by the subsequent diagnosis. Perhaps the strongest indicator that Judge Sloop's conduct demonstrates an unfitness to serve as a judge is his responses the following Monday to Chief Judge James Perry. That day, Judge Perry asked him why he had not solved the problem by simply walking back into his courtroom and taking care of it immediately. After an entire weekend to reflect on the incident, Judge Sloop responded that he did not understand why this was a big deal. The arrest of eleven citizens and their continued confinement for nine hours is a very big deal. A judge's fundamental responsibility is to protect the constitutional rights of others. Judge Sloop's callous disregard for these individuals was the antithesis of his judicial obligations. His conduct in dealing with these citizens, and his failure to recognize the enormity of the situationto our knowledge, he has yet to send letters of apology to the eleven persons arrestedconstitutes a clear abuse of the authority of the office. Judge Sloop's misconduct on December 3, 2004, brought tremendous disrepute upon himself and the justice system as a whole. We conclude that in engaging in the misconduct alleged and admitted in Count One, Judge Sloop has committed a grievous wrong which should erode confidence in the judiciary, weighing in favor of removal. See LaMotte, 341 So.2d at 518. This misconduct also leads us to conclude that Judge Sloop lacks the necessary temperament and judgment to continue to serve as a judge. We acknowledge that Judge Sloop presented evidence to the Hearing Panel that he has handled his judicial duties well, with no further allegations of misconduct, since being removed from criminal and traffic cases. However, the absence of subsequent misconduct while current charges are pending does not preclude a finding of present unfitness. See In re Renke, 933 So.2d 482, 495 (Fla. 2006). We also recognize that testimony shows that Judge Sloop has made efforts to address both his temper and the ADHD that he and the expert witnesses believe contributed to the misconduct in this case. However, these efforts are too little, too late. Although Judge Sloop sought a diagnosis, entered counseling, and completed an anger management course, he took these steps only after the negative publicity caused by his misconduct on December 3, 2004, made JQC proceedings likely. Had he taken these steps earlier in his judicial career, perhaps in response to the prior JQC warnings or admonitions from fellow judges, he might have been a very different judge by October and December, 2004. Further, the expert testimony is in conflict on whether the type of misconduct at issue in these proceedings could recur, even with counseling and ADHD medication. Dr. Day, who administered a battery of personality tests in December 2005 and February 2006, after Judge Sloop had been in therapy and on medication for many months, testified that anger continues to be a prominent feature of his personality. Dr. Day stated that Judge Sloop remains likely to eventually become rude and insensitive, and use anger as a control mechanism. Judge Sloop's therapist, Dr. Tressler, testified that Judge Sloop was over-controlling his emotions and, at the time of the hearing, had not mastered incorporating emotions into his life without worrying he would display inappropriate anger. The Hearing Panel made no findings on whether improper displays of anger were likely to recur. From the evidence presented to the Hearing Panel, we are unconvinced that Judge Sloop can both effectively manage his temper and remain an effective jurist. In short, we conclude that through his own actions culminating in the misconduct in this case, Judge Sloop has lost the public's confidence in his ability to perform his judicial duties in a fair, evenhanded, and even-tempered manner. Further, he has forfeited our confidence in his ability to perform effectively while controlling the personality traits that have led to three private warnings by the JQC, the abusive treatment of Ms. Mercano, and the wrongful arrest and incarceration of eleven citizens. Judge Sloop's indifference to the anxiety, humiliation, and hardship imposed upon these eleven citizens reflects a callous disregard for others that is among the most egregious examples we have seen of abuse of judicial authority and lack of proper judicial temperament. Under all the circumstances, we conclude that Judge Sloop has engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the judiciary demonstrating a present unfitness to hold office, requiring his removal under article V, section 12 of the Florida Constitution.