FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Supreme Court has given a Broward County judge convicted of driving under the influenceuntil mid-February to justify keeping her position.
The justices on Tuesday set a Feb. 15 deadline for Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato to explain why she should remain on the bench. The Supreme Court previously rejected a recommended penalty of temporary suspension without pay following her December 2014 DUI conviction.
Last fall, the Judicial Qualifications Commission recommendeda new penalty: a public reprimand, $20,000 fine, a three-month suspension without pay and alcohol evaluation and treatment. The Supreme Court now wants Imperato to explain why she should not be removed from office.
Imperato was first appointed a judge in 2003 and was re-elected subsequently. She was arrested for DUI in November 2013 in Boca Raton.