William J. Singbush
William J. "Jack" Singbush was a Marion County judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court in Florida. He was elected to this position in 1990 (effective January 1991), defeating incumbent judge Wallace Sturgis.[1][2][3] Singbush announced his plans to retire in October 2013 at age 62 following an official reprimand for habitual tardiness.[1] He officially retired on January 3, 2014.[4]
Education
Singbush received his B.B.A. from Stetson University and his J.D. from the University of Tulsa.[5]
Career
Singbush practiced civil law in Ocala, Fla. for more than 10 years before his election to the circuit court in 1990.[1]
Noteworthy events
Charges filed against judge (2011)
In May 2011, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) filed formal charges against Singbush. The complaint alleged that the judge was habitually late for court and took numerous smoking breaks. It also referenced a comment made during trial in which he expressed his religious beliefs.[6][7]
Reprimand by Supreme Court (2012)
The Florida Supreme Court approved the JQC's findings and publicly reprimanded Singbush on October 1, 2012. In June of that year, the court wrote:
| “ | [Singbush] was habitually tardy, often for more than 15 minutes and without good cause. His behavior inconvenienced and economically burdened lawyers and litigants alike.[8][9] | ” |
Singbush was required to log his time at work for one year so that the JQC could confirm that he was attending to court proceedings in a timely manner. He was also required to write a public letter of apology.[1]
See also
External links
- Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit: The Honorable William J. Singbush
- Ocala.com, "Notice of formal charges against Judge Jack Singbush," May 11, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ocala.com, "JQC lodges formal charges against Judge Singbush," May 11, 2011 (p.4) Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ocala" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "ocala" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Marion County Clerk of Court, "A little history of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court And Judges of Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit," November 8, 2011 Scroll to p.12
- ↑ Sumter County Supervisor of Elections, ""Elected Officials," accessed May 25, 2014"
- ↑ Ocala Star Banner, "Circuit Judge Jack Singbush to retire," October 8, 2013
- ↑ Martindale Lawyer Profile, date accessed december 21, 2013
- ↑ ABA Journal, "Ethics Complaint Accuses Florida Judge of Too Many Smoking Breaks, Religious Bias," May 12, 2011
- ↑ Ocala.com, "Notice of formal charges against Judge Jack Singbush," May 11, 2011
- ↑ Supreme Court of Florida: Case No. SC11-905, June 7, 2012 Scroll to p.10
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
