Judge Stefanie Moon will face a public reprimand for improper conduct later this year.
The Florida Supreme Court has ordered a Broward County judge to be suspended for 10 days without pay, fined $2,115 and publicly reprimanded for “unacceptable” political activities and an improper conversation with a witness in a divorce case.
The high court issued the order on July 17 to resolve charges leveled by the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission against 17th Judicial Circuit Judge Stefanie C. Moon. Initially, the commission, noting Moon’s cooperation and acknowledgment of her actions, recommended only a fine and public reprimand, but the court disagreed, saying a suspension was required.
“While we defer to the commission’s assessment of the judge’s contrition, we stress that the court cannot tolerate any further misconduct by Judge Moon,” the Supreme Court said in its order.
A spokesman for the Supreme Court told the Florida Record in an email that a date has yet to be set for the public reprimand.
“The Supreme Court next holds oral argument the week of Sept. 8,” Paul Flemming, director of the court’s Public Information Office, said. “It will not happen before then.”
The discipline approved by the court will resolve three charges against Moon. She was accused of improperly speaking to any attorney in a case before her about why he had not returned her call about serving on her re-election committee and also of making $2,000 to political organizations and candidates, including the campaign funds of former President Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and the Lincoln Project.
The final charge involved Moon engaging in ex parte communications – a conversation that excluded counsel for the opposing parties – with a mental health therapist in a divorce case. Due to the improper conversations, the case was eventually reassigned to another judge.
“Judge Moon’s conduct implicates multiple provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct,” the court said in its order. “Judges must always act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”
Under the canons of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, judges are not allowed to make financial donations to political candidates or political organizations or to take part in communications about pending cases outside the presence of the parties.
The court appeared inclined to include the suspension as part of the punishment as a result of a previous incident involving Moon.
“Our court does not often come upon a judicial discipline case in which a single judge has violated the Code of Judicial Conduct in such distinct ways in wholly unrelated incidents,” the court said. “Judge Moon’s conduct is unacceptable, especially given that the commission had already cautioned her in 2019 for improper campaign activities.”
The court indicated that the amount of the fine equaled the amount of her improper political contributions.
Neither Moon’s attorney nor the chairman of the Judicial Qualifications Commission responded to requests for comment about the court’s decision.
In its assessment of the charges against Moon, the commission credited the judge for her “cooperation, remorse and acceptance of responsibility.”
During her judicial service, Moon has taken part in activities beyond just adjudicating cases in the 17th Circuit’s Domestic Violence Division. The Supreme Court in 2022 appointed her to a three-year term on the Florida Bar Foundation, a charitable organization that helps low-income residents gain access to the justice system, and she was also chosen to serve on the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society Board of Trustees in 2023.
