A Seminole County judge could face a 60-day suspension without pay and a public reprimand after an investigation into two incidents in his courtroom.
An investigative panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission on Wednesday recommended that the state Supreme Court impose the suspension and reprimand Judge Wayne Culver. The panel, in part, cited Culver’s conduct during a Jan. 25 hearing in a case about an injunction against repeat or dating violence. Culver became angry about interruptions and “made comments to a litigant that lacked the dignity and courtesy expected and required of judges,” a document filed at the Supreme Court said.
In the other incident, which occurred on Feb. 10, Culver “raised his voice and used profanity while addressing an individual who had entered the courtroom and was standing in the gallery,” the document said.
The investigative panel and Culver reached an agreement, known as a stipulation, in which the judge acknowledged that his actions were undignified, impatient and discourteous and that he had violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct. The Supreme Court has the ultimate authority to discipline judges.