SHARE:
Florida Supreme Court rejects discipline settlement for Seminole County judge
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed settlement in a disciplinary case about incidents involving a Seminole County judge.
The Supreme Court unanimously ordered the state Judicial Qualifications Commission to hold a full hearing on the allegations against Judge Wayne Culver.
An investigative panel of the commission in June recommended that justices approve a proposed settlement that would have led to a 60-day suspension without pay and a public reprimand for Culver.
The Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for rejecting the proposed settlement. In its recommendation, the investigative panel, in part, cited Culver’s conduct during a Jan. 25 hearing in a case about an injunction against repeat or dating violence.
Culver became angry about interruptions and “made comments to a litigant that lacked the dignity and courtesy expected and required of judges,” a document filed at the Supreme Court said.
In the other incident, which occurred on Feb. 10, Culver “raised his voice and used profanity while addressing an individual who had entered the courtroom and was standing in the gallery,” the document said.
In the proposed settlement, known as a stipulation, the judge acknowledged that his actions were undignified, impatient and discourteous and that he had violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct.
