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A real character.

John Sloop Draws Criticism for His Courtroom Style and Demeanor By Rene Stutzman Sentinel Staff Writer May 15, 2005 Wesley Eugene Kendall, terminally ill with lung cancer, spent four of the last five weeks of his life behind bars or chained to a hospital bed on orders of Seminole County Judge John Sloop. His crime: He was too sick to perform community service. In December, Sloop locked up Kendall, who had gotten into a bar fight, even though two doctors said the 31-year-old man was ill. After another judge took over, Kendall was released but died a week later. "I am very angry over this," Kendall's 90-year-old grandmother, Christine Kotz, wrote Sloop. "Rather than help him, you punished him. You will answer to God for this." Sloop's handling of the Kendall case is just one example of the way he runs his courtroom. The longtime judge handles hundreds of cases a year, but sometimes he can be domineering, sarcastic and quick to humiliate, according to people who have come before him and a review of cases by the Orlando Sentinel. The newspaper looked at about 50 appeals cases since 2001 that were reversed or turned back to Seminole county judges with orders requiring more work. Twenty involved Sloop. In addition to treating some defendants harshly, Sloop at times would defy the law to do so. The judge has ordered people to wear electronic monitors when state law clearly said he could not. Appellate judges have reversed Sloop -- or ordered him to rework criminal cases -- more often than the other four Seminole county judges combined, or 17 times since 2001. Sloop would not comment for this article. His attorney, Marc Lubet, said he did not have enough information to discuss Sloop's appeals record or any of Sloop's other individual cases. "While a lot of people may not agree with the way Judge Sloop conducts his courtroom, there are many, many others who think he does a fine job," Lubet said last month. Indeed, Sloop has a reputation among courthouse colleagues and friends for helping people in need. One day, for example, Sloop pulled money from his pocket for a defendant who couldn't buy lunch because he had just spent his last dollar to catch a bus to the courthouse, according to the judge's longtime courtroom deputy, Olly Csisko. But Sloop's actions late last year may have put his career in jeopardy. Sloop, 56, is slated to go on trial before a special judicial panel for sending 11 people to jail simply because they were lost. On Dec. 3, he ordered the 11 arrested when they went to the wrong courtroom because of botched paperwork or bad directions from courthouse personnel. After sitting in the wrong room, the defendants finally discovered the error and immediately went to Sloop's courtroom. But Sloop had adjourned for the morning, was eating lunch and refused to see them, according to a Seminole County Sheriff's Office report. Three deputies approached him separately, trying to explain the mix-up, according to a report by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. But Sloop said it was too late, that their mistake was not his problem. Meanwhile, the 11 spent several hours in jail. Seminole's chief judge removed Sloop from all criminal cases, allowing him to handle only small lawsuits. The Judicial Qualifications Commission, the state panel that disciplines judges, then filed charges again him. If it finds him unfit to be a judge, he could be thrown off the bench. Sloop admitted he had made a mistake and apologized publicly, calling it a 90-minute lapse in judgment. But once the JQC filed charges, he offered an unexpected defense: He was suffering from undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sloop is now under treatment, including daily medication, and the problem is under control, his lawyer said.