Florida Judge Charged with Over a Dozen Instances of Improper Conduct

Earlier this year, Circuit Judge Linda Schoonover was removed from a case after sending one of her litigants a friend request on Facebook and then allegedly retaliating against the litigant when her request was denied. Well apparently Schoonover has quite the record of “ethical wrongdoing”—like more than a dozen and is attempting to have them all thrown out.

On August 25, the Judicial Qualifications Commission formally charged Schoonover with more than a dozen instances of improper conduct ranging from “bizarre” to “disruptive” to “displaying paranoia.” Via Raw Story:

For example, Schoonover secretly installed a camera in chambers because she believed employees at the courthouse had bugged her office, and she wanted to record video of them retrieving the recording equipment. She contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and turned over the video. The FDLE reported that there were men in the crawl space above her courtroom, but they were heating and air conditioning contractors.

So, that is worrying on a number of levels.

Schoonover is also accused of refusing to listen to the testimony of a litigant because “he annoyed her.”

While I definitely appreciate sass, also worrying.

Because three allegations of misconduct have been omitted from the final charging documents because she did not have the opportunity to explain her actions for those three, Schoonover’s attorney is arguing that all the charges ought to be thrown out. Um, okay. I suppose crazier things have happened, but I guess we’ll just have to see if all those charges get thrown out on a technicality.