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Cynthia G. Imperato
Cynthia G. Imperato is a former judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court (Eleventh Division of the Circuit Civil Division) in Florida. She was appointed to the court by former Governor Jeb Bush (R) in January 2003 to replace retired Judge Estella May Moriarty. Imperato ran unopposed and was retained in the primary on August 24, 2010.[1][2][3][4]
Imperato was charged with judicial misconduct stemming from a DUI arrest that occurred in November 2013. The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended a 90-day suspension and a $20,000 fine. Imperato was awaiting a final ruling by the Florida Supreme Court when she announced that she would resign from the court on February 29, 2016. Read more below.
Education
Imperato received her B.S. in psychology and sociology from Virginia Tech in 1979 and her M.S. in criminology from Florida State University in 1980. She was awarded a J.D. from the Florida State University School of Law in 1988.[5][6]
Career
- 2003-2016: Circuit judge, 17th Judicial Circuit Court
- 1990-2003: Senior assistant statewide prosecutor, Office of Statewide Prosecution
- 1989-1990: Senior attorney, Florida Department of Professional Regulation
- 1988-1989: Legislative analyst, Florida Senate
- 1988-1989: Attorney, Florida State Hospital
- 1981-1990: Police officer, Tallahassee Police Department[5]
Noteworthy events
Judge charged with second DUI (2013)
- See also: Politicians convicted of DUI
On November 5, 2013, Imperato was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. An officer stopped her after he noticed her white Mercedes Benz weaving and nearly hitting a parked car. An hour earlier, a 911 caller reported a white Mercedes Benz had been driving erratically. The caller said he wasn't sure if the driver was male or female:
| “ | He's all over the road. . . He nearly sideswiped me twice. He's gotta be drunk...He's really dangerous.[7][8] | ” |
Imperato refused to get out of her car and told the arresting officer she was calling her attorney. According to the officer, she was unable to dial the numbers on her cellphone. Once she got out of the car, she had to pull herself up using the car's door. Imperato refused to take a breath test, so her driver's license was automatically suspended. She was booked into jail and later released. On December 16, 2013, Imperato appeared in court in Palm Beach County to face the DUI charges.[9] She pleaded not guilty.[10] Imperato was convicted and sentenced to 20 days of house arrest and a year of probation.[11]
According to court records, this was Imperato's second DUI charge. In 1988, she was convicted of driving under the influence, involving property damage or personal injury in Leon County. Records indicated her driver's license was suspended for 180 days, and she completed DUI school.[7]
Broward County Chief Judge Peter M. Weinstein said there was no set protocol in place to deal with a judge in this situation. He noted:
| “ | Judge Imperato is a fine judge, she is a terrific human being and is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process.[7][8] | ” |
Prior to her arrest, Imperato served as a criminal judge on the court and was assigned to hear DUI cases and other serious criminal matters.[12]
Defendant convicted of murder seeks new trial after Imperato's arrest
After being arrested on charges of drunk driving, Imperato stopped handling criminal cases in Broward County. The bulk of her criminal matters were reassigned to Broward Circuit Judge Paul L. Backman. Imperato began hearing foreclosure cases for the court. Attorneys for a defendant who appeared before Imperato, and was tried for murder, reportedly hoped her brush with the law would entitle him to a new trial. In May 2012, Randy W. Tundidor was convicted for the murder of his landlord, Joseph Morrissey, and the attempted murders of Morrissey's wife and son. Morrissey was a professor at Nova Southeastern University.[13]
Five months after the trial ended, the jury determined Tundidor deserved the death penalty. Later his attorneys filed motions with the court. A "Spencer hearing" which allows a defendant to argue for a sentence of life, and avoid the death penalty, was set to take place in Tundidor's case on November 12. Instead, his attorneys appeared before Judge Backman and requested Imperato not be permitted to continue hearing Tundidor's case. Counsel for the defendant argued that if Imperato could not hear the case due to her reassignment, no other judge was qualified to step in and complete the case since they did not preside over the trial.[13]
Both Backman and the prosecutor disagreed with Tundidor's attorneys. Judge Backman indicated he could review the transcripts for the trial to familiarize himself with the case. Tom Coleman, the attorney who had been prosecuting the case, argued Imperato should be allowed to continue to serve as the judge presiding over Tundidor's case.[14]
According to Broward County Chief Administrative Judge Peter M. Weinstein, Imperato was not required to stop serving as a judge and was able to hear criminal cases, pending further resolution of her DUI charge. Although Imperato was reassigned and began hearing civil cases, she was able to complete work on a few criminal trials she heard before being charged with the DUI.[15]
At a December 5 hearing, Imperato delayed making a decision about whether she would recuse herself from the Tundidor case, but in January, she decided not to recuse herself.[16][17]
Judicial misconduct proceedings
On March 2, 2015, Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) recommended that Imperato be suspended for 20 days, fined $5,000, but keep her job on the bench. Imperato agreed to the sanctions against her and admitted responsibility for her DUI charge. The commission's investigative panel chairman, Kerry Evander, wrote:
| “ | The investigative panel finds that Judge Imperato's two DUI cases … have never affected her performance as a judge. To the contrary, Judge Imperato is held in high esteem by her colleagues and the legal community.[8] | ” |
| —Kerry Evander[18] | ||
On April 30, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the commission's recommendation that Imperato keep her job while serving a 20-day suspension and paying a $5,000 fine. Its order stated: "The Court rejects the stipulation and disapproves the proposed sanctions. We remand for further proceedings to include a full hearing before the Judicial Qualifications Commission so that the Court, in determining the appropriate sanction, will be apprised of all the facts and circumstances bearing on the violation."[19] Imperato's hearing began in September 2015. At the hearing, the judge admitted that she had violated the code of judicial conduct and said she should have pleaded guilty to the DUI charge.[20]
In October, the JQC announced its new disciplinary recommendation for the judge—a 90-day suspension and a $20,000 fine.[21] Imperato announced in February 2016 that she would resign from the court.[22]
Elections
2010
- See also: Florida judicial elections, 2010
Imperato ran unopposed and was automatically retained to a new term.[3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Cynthia Imperato Florida judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 17th Judicial Circuit Court, "Circuit Criminal Judges," accessed March 9, 2015
- ↑ South Florida Business Journal, "Gov. Bush names prosecutor Broward judge," January 22, 2003
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate Tracking System, 2010 General Election, Cynthia G. Imperato," accessed December 4, 2013
- ↑ Florida 17th Circuit Court, "Judicial Directory," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Law Diary.com, "Biographies of State and County Court Judges in Florida," accessed November 20, 2013
- ↑ Virginia Tech Magazine, "Class Notes," accessed November 20, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sun-Sentinel, "Broward Judge Cynthia Imperato charged with DUI," November 6, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Imperato schedules hearing in Tundidor death penalty case," December 2, 2013
- ↑ ABC 25 WPBF News, "Cynthia Imperato: Judge pleads not guilty following November DUI arrest," December 16, 2013
- ↑ Local10.com, "Florida Supreme Court rejects punishment for Judge Cynthia Imperato," April 30, 2015
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Broward Judge Cynthia Imperato charged with DUI," November 6, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Crime & Capital Punishment, "Lawyers weigh impact of Broward judge's arrest on death penalty case," accessed October 23, 2015
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Lawyers weigh impact of Broward judge's arrest on death penalty case," November 12, 2013
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Imperato schedules hearing in Tundidor death penalty case," December 2, 2013
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Imperato delays decision on whether to step aside in murder sentencing," December 5, 2013
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Imperato holds on to Tundidor death penalty case," January 16, 2014
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Broward Judge Imperato faces suspension, fine over DUI arrest," March 2, 2015
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Supreme Court rejects deal in Imperato's drunken driving case," April 30, 2015
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Broward Judge Imperato faces panel over misconduct during DUI arrest," September 10, 2015
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Broward Judge Imperato faces 90-day suspension and $20,000 fine," October 22, 2015
- ↑ Sun-Sentinel, "Broward Judge Cynthia Imperato to resign," February 10, 2016
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
