Judge Krause suspended for improper Facebook post
Judge Krause suspended for improper Facebook post
A 30-day suspension has been approved by the Supreme Court for a Seminole County judge involved in a second campaign-related infraction of judicial canons.
The court on June 4 approved a stipulation between Judge Debra L. Krause and the Judicial Qualifications Commission from an incident stemming from her husband’s judicial campaign.
In an earlier JQC case, Judge Krause had received a public reprimand and a $25,000 fine for violations related to her own campaign for judge, including campaigning at a partisan political event, failing to put the word “for” between her name and the office she was running for as required by state law, and misidentifying loans to her campaign as her funds when some of the money was her husband’s.
The JQC had sought to consolidate the two cases and include punishment for the second instance in the public reprimand. But the Supreme Court denied that request and ordered separate proceedings. That resulted in a second stipulation between Judge Krause and the JQC for the 30-day suspension.
According to that stipulation, Judge Krause became upset at what she perceived to be incorrect statements made by her husband’s opponent about Judge Krause’s first JQC case. After consulting with her chief judge, Krause twice sent letters to that candidate and once sent an emissary without any result.
Judge Krause then posted a message on Facebook, which she said was intended to be a private message to friends. She removed it within hours after realizing it could reach more than her friends, but it was nonetheless disseminated by supporters of her husband’s opponent.
The JQC said Judge Krause acknowledged the posting was improper. Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the initial stipulation, the JQC and Judge Krause agreed on a 30-day suspension, which the court accepted.
Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince, Charles Canady, and Ricky Polson concurred in the opinion accepting the stipulation. Justice James Perry was recused.
