SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole county judge will be public ally reprimanded next month.
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Channel 9 told you in November 2024 that an investigative panel of the Florida Qualifications Commission recommended discipline for Seminole County Judge Wayne Culver in 2022.
We told you about the judge back in 2022. Now, he will have to face that suspension and reprimand on Feb. 5.
Sarcastic, undignified, and unprofessional, that is how the Judicial Qualifications Commission described a Seminole County judge after a video surfaced showing Judge Wayne Curver swearing at a defendant who was also acting out.
READ: ‘Remorseful’ Seminole County Judge Faces Suspension
He also unlawfully sentenced a man to a year and a half in jail for contempt weeks earlier.
Culver was elected in 2020, taking the bench in January of 2021, and faced a 60-day suspension for two incidents of misconduct in court not too long after.
According to paperwork, the first incident happened when a litigant in his court interrupted the court proceedings.
Culver told him that if he didn’t stop, he would send him to jail for so long that the jail would be named after him.
READ: Central Florida judge facing suspension for being threatening, using profanity
Culver said he was just trying to get his attention, but the commission wrote that sarcasm and mockery was inappropriate.
In the second incident, the judge is accused of not only using profanity, but also being threatening. The JQC said he should be suspended and publicly apologize, and the court agreed.
The ruling said, “Judges are required ‘To conduct themselves with integrity; to be patient, dignified, and courteous toward others in official settings, but the ruling pointed to the commission’s finding that culver ‘ is genuinely contrite, has learned from this experience, and continues to be effective as a judge.”
READ: Deputies: Victim stabbed 20-70 times in Seminole County homicide investigation
The court said culver has cooperated fully, accepted full responsibility and acknowledged that such conduct should have never occurred.
Culver was dealing with intense personal pressure and loss while caring for his dying father at the time.
His suspension will also soon be in effect.
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