What an activist jerkwad
Fla. high court removes judge who jailed 11 after they were directed to wrong courtroom
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A judge who jailed 11 people because they were late for traffic court after being directed to the wrong courtroom lost his job Thursday, as the state Supreme Court ruled he was unfit to remain on the bench.
In a unanimous decision, the court said the jailing and strip-searching of the 11 motorists capped a series of conduct complaints against Seminole County Judge John Sloop, 57.
“Judge Sloop’s indifference to the anxiety, humiliation and hardship imposed upon these 11 citizens reflects a callous disregard for others that is among the most egregious examples we have seen of abuse of judicial authority and lack of proper judicial temperament,” the high court wrote in an unsigned opinion.
The 11 had gone to court on citations ranging from driving with a suspended license to having an illegal tag. Sloop jailed the misdirected motorists although two other judges and a bailiff had told him they were not to blame.
Another judge began paperwork to release them while Sloop was running an errand, but the motorists were not freed until they had been strip-searched and spent nine hours behind bars, the high court noted.</i>
What an asshat.
