The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to a proposed settlement in a disciplinary case that will lead to Polk County Judge John Flynn facing a 25-day suspension without pay and a public reprimand.
Flynn and the state Judicial Qualifications Commission reached the settlement, known as a stipulation, in a case that stemmed from the judge’s 2022 election campaign. Flynn was accused of making statements that showed bias in favor of law-enforcement agencies.
Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision, pointing to the settlement, said that Flynn’s statements “viewed in their totality, constitute ‘very serious’ misconduct.” The statements run afoul of canons requiring judicial candidates to “act in a manner consistent with the impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary,” the ruling said.
The court’s decision came after justices in June rejected a proposed settlement that recommended Flynn face a 30-day suspension.
Wednesday’s decision noted that the commission’s revised recommended discipline took into account Flynn’s “immediate acceptance of responsibility, his remorse, and his cooperation with the panel investigating his case.” The commission also considered Flynn’s “newness to the bench and his clean disciplinary record as a lawyer and a judge,” Wednesday’s ruling said.
“We agree with the commission that these are mitigating circumstances,” said the ruling shared by Chief Judge Carlos Muniz and Justices Charles Canady, Jorge Labarga, John Couriel, Jamie Grosshans, Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso.
