CUTLER BAY, Fla. (WSVN) — A Miami-Dade judge was suspended by the Florida Supreme Court after, investigators said, she launched into a profanity-laced tirade in a restaurant and appeared to be so drunk in her own courtroom that she was removed from the bench.
According to a state investigative report released Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Schwartz yelled at a waiter at the Ergon Greek Deli and Cuisine in Miami, March 18, after she was refused more alcohol. According to the report, conducted by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, she told the server, "I want to speak with the [expletive] owner. You are a [expletive] idiot. You don’t know who I am."
The report states restaurant staff and patrons said the judge "was seen acting in an irrational and disorderly manner," slurring and spilling wine on herself and water on the floor. In a letter to Schwartz, the commission wrote her, "You told one server that you would have him fired for refusing to serve you."
The letter further stated that Schwartz referred to the police officers who were called to the restaurant as "pigs." In addition, the commission told the judge, "You were further aggressive and uncooperative with the emergency responders, swearing at the police and EMS personnel … and telling the officers they couldn’t do anything to you because you are a judge."
A friend drove Schwartz home that night. Schwartz later reported the episode to the commission, indicating she had done nothing wrong.
Ten days later, however, Schwartz once again appeared impaired while at the South Dade Courthouse. "Court personnel, litigants and police officers waiting to testify observed that you were unsteady on your feet, slurring your words and unable to concentrate," the commission wrote to Schwartz.
Chief Judge Bertila Soto ordered Schwartz to go home. She insisted she could drive herself, but her bailiff volunteered to take her. The commission letter states, "During your drive, you were unable to recall your address or provide coherent directions. You also did not recognize your bailiff or remember whose car you were in."
The judge had been on paid medical leave since she was sent home from the bench, March 28. However, after her case was reviewed, she was officially suspended Tuesday.
Schwartz’s lawyer, Jeffrey Feiler, told the commission this month that his client was not drunk but under the influence of a new prescription medication. A review panel wrote, "Judge Schwartz’s counsel did provide records to show that she was prescribed a new medication. However, the testimony and evidence revealed that the judge was not taking her medication in accordance with the prescription instructions."
This is the second time that a state judicial oversight board has questioned Schwartz’s behavior and coarse language. In December, the Florida Supreme Court scolded Schwartz after she told a store owner to "go [expletive] yourself" during a heated re-election campaign in June 2014. She was reportedly angry that the store owner had an oversized campaign sign posted for her opponent. She was suspended for 30 days and had to pay a $10,000 fine.
In a statement, the judicial commission said it takes this matter very seriously and expects judges to be held to high standards.