Thursday, March 30, 2006
The ADHD made me do it!
During my daily flip through the New York Lawyer (free registration required) I noticed the following article about an idiot Florida judge (via the AP):
It gets better. Not only were the 11 people arrested for no real reason, someone thought that they should be strip searched.
Despite the Kettle's disbelief in the actual existence of this "disorder," it seems as if our good Judge Sloop not only ignored the court staff, but had 11 people arrested for no reason, went out for a sandwich and to pick up his dry cleaning and came back to work in the afternoon and didn't remember what the hell he did that morning?
This man is not only a disgrace to judges around the country, but an utter embarassment to all those poor 12 and 13 year olds suffering from ADD and ADHD.
Judge Blames His ADHD for Arresting 11 Over Paperwork Snafu
March 29, 2006
By The Associated Press
SANFORD, Fla. -- A judge who had 11 people arrested for accidentally going to the wrong courtroom told an ethics board he was "horrified" by what he had done and blamed the problem on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Seminole County Judge John Sloop, 57, said he hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD before the incident but now takes medicine and sees a psychologist and psychiatrist.
"I will never be able to make amends," Sloop told the Judicial Qualifications Commission during a hearing to determine his future as a judge.
The commission had issued a notice of charges last April accusing Sloop of being unfit to serve. The panel, which could fine Sloop or go so far as to recommend his removal from the bench, will now make a recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court, which will make the final decision.
The 11 traffic offenders had gone to the wrong courtroom the morning of Dec. 3, 2004. Sloop ordered them arrested for failing to appear, even though two judges and a bailiff told him the defendants were directed to the wrong place by faulty paperwork or deputies.
Sloop on Tuesday conceded that he ignored those warnings, ate a quick lunch, left the courthouse to run errands, then returned and began his afternoon hearings as if nothing had happened.
A member of the commission asked Sloop why he didn't apologized to the victims before he spoke with an attorney who advised him not to.
"I can't answer that," Sloop said. "I can only suggest I was struggling with an undiagnosed disorder."
It gets better. Not only were the 11 people arrested for no real reason, someone thought that they should be strip searched.
Despite the Kettle's disbelief in the actual existence of this "disorder," it seems as if our good Judge Sloop not only ignored the court staff, but had 11 people arrested for no reason, went out for a sandwich and to pick up his dry cleaning and came back to work in the afternoon and didn't remember what the hell he did that morning?
This man is not only a disgrace to judges around the country, but an utter embarassment to all those poor 12 and 13 year olds suffering from ADD and ADHD.
