Posted on 03/29/2006 8:26:21 AM PST by stainlessbanner
SANFORD, Fla. -- The judge who had 11 people arrested for accidentally going to the wrong courtroom told an ethics board he was "horrified" by what he had done, blaming the problem on a mental disorder.
Seminole County Judge John Sloop, 57, blamed his actions on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Tuesday, the first day of his trial before the Judicial Qualifications Commission. He said he now takes medicine and sees both a psychologist and a psychiatrist.
"I will never be able to make amends," Sloop said.
The morning of Dec. 3, 2004, 11 traffic offenders went to the wrong courtroom. Sloop ordered them arrested for failing to appear, even though two judges and a bailiff told him the defendants were directed to the wrong place by faulty paperwork or deputies.
Sloop conceded Tuesday that he ignored those warnings, ate a quick lunch, left the courthouse to run errands, then returned and began his afternoon hearings as if nothing had happened.
A member of the commission asked why Sloop never apologized to the victims -- before he spoke with an attorney who advised him not to.
"I can't answer that," Sloop said. "I can only suggest I was struggling with an undiagnosed disorder."
Once the hearing concludes, the panel will deliberate in secret and make its recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court, which will make a final decision. The recommendation may not come for weeks.
fl-ping
has Fla found it's next Supreme Court Justice.... he is qualified by the standard the other Justices have set ...... to disregard the law, common sense, common decency, and the public in general.....
The Judges' next disorder should be diagnosed as 'got his arse fired, lost his pension to pay off the 11, and turned in his law license'.
I suspect a majority of judges in Florida suffer from undiagnosed disorders -- California too!
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