Judiciary
So. Fla. Judge Barred From Courthouse Calls it Quits
Posted Apr 1, 2008, 03:52 pm CST
By Molly McDonough
Updated: A Broward County, Fla., judge abruptly resigned Monday after the chief judge inexplicably barred him from the courthouse.
The Miami Herald reports that Chief Judge Victor Tobin had reassigned Judge Jay Spechler last week. Spechler, a former administrative chief of the county court, was handling traffic and parking matters at satellite courthouses until his resignation Monday.
''He was reassigned to his car, essentially. He didn't like it,'' one judge is anonymously quoted saying.
The paper says Spechler submitted a resignation letter to the governor, but didn't explain why he quit. However, the Daily Business Review reports that, "Spechler’s reassignment came after he got into a verbal altercation with fellow County Court Judge Peggy Gehl and made disparaging comments about her sexual orientation."
Spechler has already landed a new job with a mediation firm, the Center for Conflict Resolution, in North Miami. The judge's friends speculated that Spechler was already considering a move to mediation and the conflict made him act sooner than later.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday that Spechler was "stunned" by his reassignment.
"I would rather embark on my new career than do my assignment that he assigned me to," Spechler is quoted saying.
Additional coverage:
Sun-Sentinel: "Broward judge who resigned had been accused of bullying"
Updated 1:16 p.m. April 3 to add additional coverage. Headline updated on April 4 to reflect that Spechler is in So. Florida.
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