On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court scheduled an Aug. 31 public reprimand for Tallahassee-area Circuit Judge Barbara Hobbs, who faces discipline after she acted as an attorney for her son following his arrest in a shooting incident.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an order that said Hobbs, a judge in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, will be suspended without pay for 60 days, required to pay a $30,000 fine, and receive a public reprimand.
A hearing panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission issued a 36-page document last year detailing findings and recommendations involving Hobbs, who faced a series of allegations stemming in part from her son’s 2019 arrest after an incident in which he shot through a door at his home and struck a woman.
Hobbs went to the Tallahassee police station and acted as her son’s attorney, including during police questioning of her son, the document said. The hearing panel concluded that Hobbs, who later contacted an attorney to represent her son, violated judicial canons.
The Supreme Court said Hobbs also did not properly supervise a judicial assistant, who allowed Hobbs’ son to improperly access restricted areas of the courthouse while criminal charges were pending against him.
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