State’s unique electoral system and massive population create opportunities for judicial discipline complaints, with recent high-profile sanctions raising questions about oversight effectiveness
By Senior Staff Writer, Edmond Thorne for OmniCom MultiMediaFlorida News Network: Tallahassee—The gavel falls in courtrooms across Florida thousands of times each day, yet what happens when the judges themselves face accusations of breaking the rules? Florida’s judicial discipline system processes more complaints than almost any other state, receiving between 600 and 700 allegations of judge misconduct annually. Most fade away quickly, dismissed as frivolous or unfounded. But the small percentage that stick reveals something important about how Florida selects and monitors the people who interpret its laws.…