Filing #

Filing # 209232957
209232957 E-Filed
E-Filed 10/21/2024
10/21/2024 03:31:36
03:31:36 PM
PM

BEFORE THE FLORIDA

JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS COMMISSION

INQUIRY CONCERNING A JUDGE JQC NO. 2024-375

THE HON. ANNE MARIE GENNUSA
/
NOTICE OF FORMAL CHARGES

TO: The Honorable Anne Marie Gennusa

Putnam County Courthouse
410 Saint Johns Avenue
Palatka, Florida 32177-4725

The Investigative Panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, at

its meetings on June 27, 2024, and October 17, 2024, by a vote of the majority of its

members, pursuant to Rule 6(f) of the Rules of the Florida Judicial Qualifications

Commission and Article V, Section 12(b) of the Constitution of the State of Florida,

finds that probable cause exists for formal proceedings to be instituted against you

Canon 2A requires that, “A judge shall respect and comply with the law
and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence
in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

Canon 3B(2) requires, in pertinent part, that, “A judge shall be faithful

to the law and maintain professional competence in it.”

Canon 3B(4) commands that, “A judge shall be patient, dignified, and

courteous...” to those with whom the judge deals in an official capacity

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 Canon 3B(8) states that, “A judge shall dispose of all matters promptly,
efficiently, and fairly.”

Probable cause exists on the following formal charges

1. Since being appointed to the bench in April 2023, you have conducted

improper or legally deficient contempt proceedings, failing to adhere to

basic principles of due process. You have also failed to comport yourself

with the patience, dignity, and courtesy expected of judges, and failed to

act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity

and impartiality of the judiciary. To wit

a. State v. Boone

i. On or about January 2, 2024, while presiding over the

misdemeanor battery case of State v. Boone (Putnam County

Case No. 2023-2208), you engaged in intemperate conduct

lacking the patience, dignity, and courtesy required by the

Code of Judicial Conduct, failed to comply with the basic

legal requirements for contempt, and otherwise failed to

observe and maintain the high standards of conduct expected

of judges

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ii. During the Boone hearing, you asked the 22-year-old

defendant if he needed more time to speak to anyone before

he entered a plea. Despite you having just asked that

question, when the defendant went to speak to his mother in

the gallery, you interrupted their conversation and told the

defendant’s mother, “He’s an adult ... I can’t have you—”

That interruption prompted the defendant, while still near the

gallery, to openly discuss the allegations against him, which

in turn prompted the alleged victim, who was seated

elsewhere in the gallery, to argue with the defendant. Your

courtroom deputy, who previously knew the defendant,

intervened and successfully calmed the defendant, who then

stood silent at the podium. You said, “I’m not going to accept

a plea from anybody who doesn’t wish to accept a plea.” But

then you exacerbated the situation by saying to the defendant,

in a raised voice, “But one thing I am going to tell you is,

you’re not going to come into my courtroom and be

disrespectful. I don’t care if your mother’s here or not,

because that’s a reflection on her when you’re acting

disrespectful This is not the Jerry Springer show ... you

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 don’t get to just ... lash out and say whatever you want. It

doesn’t work like that.” Your comments provoked the

defendant to respond, “I’m not lashing. This ain’t no lashing

out. Lash out I’m going to get loud on you.” You replied,

“You gonna get loud on me? You know what, we’ll do this

after lunch. Bailiff, take him into custody. I’m going to find

you in indirect criminal contempt. I'll see you after lunch, sir

I don’t have the time to deal with this right now.” Even

though you already had incorrectly found the defendant in

“indirect” criminal contempt, you then gave the defendant the

opportunity to say why you should not hold him in custody

The defendant responded, “Because I ain’t did nothing wrong

I’m trying to get my life together...” You replied, in a raised

voice, “Acting like this ain’t getting your life together.”

iii. Despite having announced an adjournment, you remained on

the bench while your courtroom deputy was handcuffing the

defendant. At that point, the prosecutor asked you whether

the alleged victim should remain. You responded, without

basis, “Well, you know what, it doesn’t seem like she’s going

to want the plea either, so I’m not going to accept a plea.”

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 Your unsubstantiated comment about the alleged victim’s

intentions again exacerbated the situation, provoking the

alleged victim to speak out from the gallery, “I never said I

did not want the plea.” The defendant and the alleged victim

then began arguing in open court again while you remained

on the bench

iv. After the defendant had been removed from the courtroom,

you unilaterally admonished the alleged victim by stating,

“And you too. This is a courtroom.” The alleged victim

responded, “I understand that.” Despite the alleged victim’s

response, you continued admonishing the alleged victim by

stating, “I understand a lot of things too... and you talking

like that, you’re represented by the State, you’re the alleged

victim.” When the alleged victim responded, “I haven’t done

anything,” you replied, in a raised voice, “Do you understand

I didn’t ask you to talk back to me? I didn’t ask you to speak

to me. I’m just telling you.” After the alleged victim stopped

speaking, you asked the prosecutor, “Do you want to speak to

your alleged victim?” In doing so, your tone of voice

emphasized the word “alleged,” clearly conveying sarcasm

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 v. While the alleged victim was speaking one-on-one with the

prosecutor in the gallery, the alleged victim said to the

prosecutor that she was getting “irritated” and that she did not

“like being spoken to like a child,” and did not “understand

what is going on.” Even though you were not part of the

conversation—which you had just requested the prosecutor to

have with the alleged victim—upon overhearing the alleged

victim’s statements, you turned to your courtroom deputy and

said, “Take her into contempt too. I don’t have time for—you

know what, take her in too. I’m not doing this. I’m not doing

this today. I’m not doing it today. Be back at 1:30.”

vi. After being handcuffed and taken into custody, the alleged

victim was held for almost three hours until you re-convened

court again after lunch. The alleged victim was brought back

to court still in handcuffs when you told a courtroom deputy,

“you can uncuff her.” Speaking to the alleged victim, you

casually referred to her being handcuffed and arrested on your

order as having had “a little bit of a thing this morning.” You

told the alleged victim “you just wanted to see how you were

doing and kinda move forward from that.” You asked the

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 alleged victim if she agreed with the state’s plea offer to the

defendant, to which the alleged victim agreed. You then

asked the alleged victim if she understood that while she was

in the courtroom, “what happened this morning cannot

happen again.” The alleged victim said yes and apologized to

you. You told the alleged victim you accepted and

appreciated her apology, but you did not apologize or

otherwise acknowledge that you had acted improperly in

holding the alleged victim in contempt and causing her to be

handcuffed and held in custody for almost three hours

Instead, you said, “It got very heated, and I don’t want it to be

heated like that. So I figured if we all had a cooling off period,

it would make things better.”

vil. In addition to the undignified comments and tone which you

used during the court proceedings, your oral contempt orders

were illegal in that you simply ordered the defendant and the

alleged victim taken into custody. Your conduct was

especially improper in ordering the alleged victim into

custody

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 viii. During your appearance before the Commission, you

acknowledged that you realized within a short time that

ordering the alleged victim into custody was improper.

However, you still waited almost three hours until court

reconvened after lunch to correct your error and order her

release. Even though you had been an attorney for 29 years

practicing criminal and family law before taking the bench,

you claimed you did not know how to have the alleged victim

returned to court any earlier than scheduled. You also sought

to excuse your improper contempt procedures and behavior

based on the fact that you had yet to attend Florida Judicial

College, and because you had been vomiting and had a fever

earlier that morning

ix. Video of this matter is JQC Composite Exhibit 1

b. Inre: M.R.A., L.A

i. On or about November 21, 2023, while presiding over a

truancy hearing Jn re: M.R.A., J.-A. (Putnam County Case

Nos. 2022-000113-DP and 2022-00114-DP), you held the

mother of three minor children in direct criminal contempt

and sentenced her to 10 days in jail. In your oral order entered

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 at the end of the hearing, you stated the Mother had “argued”

with you and “disrespected the court.” In your written order

entered after the hearing, you found that the Mother’s

behavior had been “belligerent” and “deplorable” and she had

made statements which were “inappropriate and was (sic)

calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the administration

of justice.” However, the video recording of the hearing does

not support either your oral statements or written findings

upon which you held the Mother in direct criminal contempt

ii. The video recording shows that the Mother attempted to

explain her violation of a court order requiring the enrollment

of her minor children in a specific school program. The

Mother testified, among other reasons, that the children’s

maternal grandfather had recently been murdered by the

children’s father. You interrupted the Mother and

inexplicably stated, “I get all that—I understand—lI get all

that, but that’s not a reason for the kids not to go to school.”

iii. The Mother then tried to explain that one of the children

who had witnessed the murder—had to go out of town to

speak to the investigating detective in Pasco County and

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 “psychologically she can’t” go to school. You responded,

“Unless I modify the order, they’re ordered—they need to

comply.” The mother replied, “Then I guess you’ll get a

lawyer.” You responded, “You guess you’ll get what?” The

mother replied, “A lawyer.” You responded, “Okay, you can

do whatever you want, this is truancy court.” The mother

replied, “But my kids are mentally unstable to go right now,

and you’re not understanding, their father is gone.” Still

without acknowledging the impact of this substantial change

in circumstances, you responded, “It’s already been ordered,

ma’am.”

iv. As the hearing continued, the mother began to question some

of the conditions which had been imposed on her in a separate

dependency case. You responded, “This is truancy. This has

nothing to do with dependency.” The mother interrupted you

and replied, “Well, this is what I have to do for my case to be

closed so what does that mean this doesn’t have—” You

responded, with a raised voice, “Ma’am, again, again. When

I speak, you don’t speak.” The Mother turned her head away

from you, to which you responded, “And don’t roll your eyes

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 at me, or you know what, this gentleman here (pointing at

your courtroom deputy) will hold you in contempt.” The

Mother calmly responded, “Yes, ma’am.”

v. You then stated, “Let’s start this again. I am not the

dependency judge. You are here for truancy purposes, which

means your children have missed school. I don’t care about

a case plan before any other judge. I’m the judge here,

hearing the truancy case. In regards to this case, you have not

complied with a court order ... that required your children to

be enrolled in a program. So I’m trying to give you the

information that you say you don’t know what the

information is. So I’m telling you I don’t care what your (the

children’s) therapist is going to tell me at this point. That’s

irrelevant. The damage is done. The absences have already

occurred. Now what you’re trying to do is build yourself

back. I’m sorry that your father was murdered. I’m sorry that

your husband is not around. That’s not what the issue is. The

only issue before this court is how to get your children

educated and making sure that you are a participant and assist

in their educational process. That is what your role is.”

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 vi. The children’s truancy counselor then testified about the case

status. Seeing the Mother nodding, you stated to the Mother,

“Okay, you’re shaking your head, but all I’ve heard is that

you’ve not complied with the court’s order. You’re shaking

your head like you’ve done something wonderful and you

haven’t. You’ve failed to comply with the court’s order. You

don’t get—it’s not an option. You’re court-ordered for the

children to attend [the program].” The Mother responded,

“Because I emailed my doctor, and my doctor said they [the

children] were not mentally stable—” ‘You interrupted and

replied, “I don’t care what the doctor—” The mother

responded, “So okay, if they have a medical document, that’s

what I’m trying to tell you.” You replied, with a raised voice,

“But you don’t have it.” The Mother responded, “I can show

you the email then.” You replied, “Ma’am, I don’t need to see

the email.”

vii. A few minutes later, the Mother again tried to explain to you

the reasons why the children had not been enrolled in the

program, including that “My daughter is not okay right now

She is receiving counseling from [two counselors] ... My

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 daughter witnessed a death and everything else. Death as far

as her father ... She is not okay. She witnessed things that I

would never let my kid like see or be around. So I’m about

to see a shrink, because my baby’s father murdered my father,

and my daughter has to deal with it.” Again, without

acknowledging the impact of this substantial change in

circumstances, you responded, “Listen, here’s the deal. I’m

going to take a five-minute recess, but when I come back, it’s

my hope that you think about why we’re here today. I don’t

care about all of the outside stuff. This is about your children

going to school. That’s what this is about. That’s it.” The

mother replied, “I get that.” You responded, “Obviously not

We’re all here for you today. So, I’m going to take a five

minute recess. I will be back, and we’re going to discuss

what’s gonna happen. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet

for violating my court order. So let me think about that.”

viii. After the five-minute recess, you returned to the courtroom

Upon your return, your first statement—speaking to the

Mother—was, “Based on your actions and what has occurred

in court today, I’m going to be finding you in direct criminal

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contempt of the court’s order. I will sentence you to 10 days

in the county jail.” Only after making that finding and

sentencing the Mother did you ask her for mitigating evidence

and whether she was still willing to enter her child in the

program. The Mother said yes. You replied, “Well, what I’m

going to do, because I think I’ve asked you three times prior

to this whether or not you were going to do it, and that you

were in contempt of the court’s order. You argued with me

In regards to that, you actually disrespected the bench. You

actually took into — did not take into account, really, the

situation that we’re here today, the process. In regards to that,

I’m going to give you 10 days to think about your actions

You’ll come back before the Court in 10 days and we can re

address everything at that time.” You then directed the

Mother to put her hands behind her back. While your

courtroom deputy was handcuffing the Mother, you stated,

“For the record, you failed to comply with the court’s order.

You violated the court’s order and you impacted the ability of

this Court to conduct court the way it needs to be. So in

regards to that, ma’am, I can sentence you up to 180 days. |

Page 14 of 26
 will only sentence you for 10 days.” The Mother was

immediately led from the courtroom to serve her jail sentence

ix. You subsequently entered a written direct criminal contempt

order declaring that the Mother’s behavior during the hearing

had been “belligerent” and “deplorable” and that her

statements were “inappropriate and calculated to

embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the administration of justice.”

x. Your oral direct criminal contempt order was legally deficient

in that you conflated the mother’s failure to comply with the

prior school enrollment order—which would have been the

subject of civil contempt—with your perceived belief that the

mother had “argued” with you, “disrespected the bench,” and

“impacted the ability of this Court to conduct court the way it

needs to be.” ‘Your action also was legally deficient in that

only after you had found the mother in direct criminal

contempt and sentenced her to 10 days in the county jail did

you ask her for mitigating evidence

xi. More significantly, the video recording of this hearing does

not support your oral statements that the mother had “argued”

with you, “disrespected the bench,” or “impacted the ability

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 of this Court to conduct court the way it needs to be,” to

support a direct criminal contempt finding or the resulting 10

day jail sentence. Rather, the video recording indicates that

when the mother attempted to explain to you the primary

reason why she had not complied with the school enrollment

order—the traumatizing effect from the murder of the

children’s grandfather by their father, including one child who

had witnessed the murder—you repeatedly and inexplicably

said you did not care about those circumstances and

considered those circumstances irrelevant, despite that such a

substantial change in circumstances required your earnest

consideration in determining whether the mother’s non

compliance should result in a civil contempt order.

xii. Further, the video recording of this hearing does not

substantiate your written order declaring that the Mother’s

behavior was “belligerent” and “deplorable” or that her

statements were “inappropriate and calculated to

embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the administration of justice.”

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xiii. You also did not address, or even inquire, as to the potential

effect on the welfare of the minor children before you ordered

the mother taken into custody.

xiv. You later vacated the prior judge’s order regarding the

children’s placement after the Mother had served her

contempt jail sentence. However, you did not vacate the

Mother’s direct criminal contempt conviction which you had

imposed

xv. During your appearance before the Commission, you testified

that during the five-minute recess which you took during the

truancy hearing, you had contacted your administrative judge

to determine whether you could hold the Mother in contempt

for not having complied with the truancy order—a matter for

civil contempt. However, when you returned to the

courtroom, rather than imposing a civil contempt order, you

immediately sentenced the mother to 10 days in jail for direct

criminal contempt. Even though you had been a thirty-year

attorney practicing criminal and family law before taking the

bench, you testified that, at the time, you did not fully

understand the difference between civil contempt and direct

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 criminal contempt. You also acknowledged you did not

conduct a procedurally proper contempt hearing, and you

testified you were unaware that you could have vacated the

Mother’s direct criminal contempt conviction which you had

imposed. You again sought to excuse your actions on the fact

that you had yet to attend Florida Judicial College. However,

despite the video evidence to the contrary, you stood by your

belief that, at the time you wrote the direct criminal contempt

order, the Mother’s behavior had been “belligerent” and

“deplorable” and that her statements were “inappropriate and

calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the

administration of justice.”

xvi. Video of this matter is JQC Composite Exhibit 2

c. State v. Morrison

i. On or about November 29, 2023, you were scheduled to

arraign the defendant (Morrison) in State v. Morrison,

(Putnam County Case No. 2023-968-CT), regarding driving

on an invalid license, a second-degree misdemeanor

ii. Per the video recording of your courtroom that day, while you

were hearing an unrelated case preceding Morrison’s case,

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 your courtroom deputy told Morrison, who was seated in the

back of the gallery, to remove his hat and to leave the

courtroom when his cellphone rang. Morrison complied, but

as he left the courtroom, he told the deputy, “Go f***

yourself.” When you overheard the remark while presiding

over the unrelated case, you instructed the deputy to

apprehend Morrison from the hallway and return him to the

courtroom

iii. When the deputy returned Morrison to the courtroom in

handcuffs, you first stated you were finding him in direct

criminal contempt, but then asked him why you should not

find him guilty of direct criminal contempt. Morrison calmly

responded, “Your Honor, I have no reason to tell you I’m not

guilty, but if you could have a little bit of grace on me, I’ve

just been going through a lot.”

iv. After repeating your observations of Morrison’s improper

conduct, you asked Morrison, “Give me a really good reason

why you would come into my courtroom, disrespect not only

the process, but the court, the judge, and my bailiff, who was

doing his job, when you’re here ona - I believe - simple no

Page 19 of 26
 valid driver’s license.” Morrison responded, “I’ve been

having a stressful week and everything. I can’t—I can’t give

you an excuse. I’m not going to sit here and give you excuses

and lie to you. I’m not going to do that.”

v. You then asked Morrison, “So give me mitigation, real

mitigation, not that you’re stressed, give me mitigation as to

why I should not hold you in contempt.” Morrison responded,

“Because I’ve just gotten my first career job...” You

interrupted Morrison by stating, “That’s a good thing. That’s

not—” Morrison continued, “I’m trying to get my daughter

back from the courts as we speak, because when I was in a

motorcycle accident this year, I wasn’t able to be here to sign

her birth certificate, and they gave her up to somebody else.”

At that point, Morrison began crying. While crying, Morrison

stated, “And I’m trying to get work so I can get ... custody

over her.”

vi. You replied, “Mr. Morrison, all of those things would have

been relevant if you had decided not to be as disrespectful as

you were, not only to, like I said, to the Court, you did this in

front of the Court. It’s not like you were in the hallway, or at

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 somebody’s house, or with a friend So I am going to find

that guilty of criminal contempt. I’m going to sentence you to

60 days. I could sentence you up to 179. I’m going to

sentence you to 60 days in the county jail. We can reevaluate

it possibly in the future, but as of now, I’m going to find you

in direct contempt, direct criminal contempt.” The defendant

continued crying

vii. Although your 60-day sentence was legal in its duration, the

sentence’s length appears to have been excessive in light of

Morrison’s expression of remorse, his request for mitigation

based on his new employment and alleged paternity issue, and

the fact that Morrison was in court on a second-degree

misdemeanor driving offense

viii. Further, despite Morrison now being handcuffed and in

distress, you proceeded with Morrison’s arraignment on his

no valid driver’s license charge. You asked the prosecutor if

she had an offer which she wished to put on the record. The

prosecutor offered an adjudication of guilt and court costs

You asked Morrison if he had an attorney. Morrison, while

crying, responded, “I barely have a house to live in. I ain’t

Page 21 of 26
 got nothing. I ain’t got a job now.” You replied, “My ruling

is going to stand. I find you guilty of direct criminal

contempt. I do not find your argument as to why you were

disrespectful to not only to the Court—” Morrison

interjected, “There was no reason. There was no reason. I

can’t give you a reason. I’m not going to lie to you.” You

replied, “That’s why I’m only going to sentence you to 60

days.”

ix. Your final statement, implying you were being merciful to

Morrison, further reflects your lack of understanding of the

sentence’s excessiveness in light of his expression of remorse,

his request for mitigation, and the fact that the state was

seeking only an adjudication and court costs on the no valid

driver’s license charge for which Morrison was in court

x. Continuing with the arraignment, you asked Morrison if he

wished to enter a not guilty plea to the charge of driving with

no valid driver’s license. Morrison, still crying, responded, “I

don’t know. That’s the best—in my defense, I don’t know

what to do. I don’t even know what to do. I don’t know what

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 the best option is.” Courtroom deputies then led Morrison out

of the courtroom

xi. Approximately 21-days later you modified your contempt

order to time-served so that Morrison could be extradited on

a newly issued out-of-state warrant, of which you had not

been aware at the time you sentenced Morrison for direct

criminal contempt

xii. During your appearance before the Commission, you

maintained that sentencing Morrison to the 60-day jail

sentence was not excessive because it was of legal duration,

it was necessary to maintain respect for the court, and “you

have seen judges sentence people to longer for less.”

However, when the Commission expressed its concern that

the sentence appeared excessive in light of Morrison’s

expression of remorse, his request for mitigation, and the fact

that the state was seeking only an adjudication and court costs

on the no valid driver’s license charge for which Morrison

was in court, you again stated that you had not attended

Florida Judicial College before the hearing had occurred, and

Page 23 of 26
 acknowledged that you may have acted differently based on

what you had learned at Florida Judicial College

xiii. Video of this matter is JQC Exhibit 3

2. The Commission is mindful that the use of direct criminal contempt by a

judge is an extraordinarily serious decision, and something to be weighed

by each judge, in each circumstance. Here, however, your unwarranted

and improper use of contempt in some instances, coupled with your failure

to follow the law governing your use of contempt in all cases,

cumulatively, constitutes a pattern of abusing your contempt authority

3. In sum, in your appearances before the Commission, you acknowledged

that your conduct fell below the high standard expected of judges, and that

you should have been more patient and courteous. You also acknowledged

that you did not comply with the law and procedures governing the

exercise of your summary contempt powers. You stated that you were

unfamiliar with how to use your contempt powers because you had not yet

attended the Florida Judicial College

Your unwillingness or inability to govern yourself with the dignity, courtesy

and patience required by the Code, as well as your casual and illegal use of your

contempt power in direct contravention of clearly established procedures and law,

raise serious questions about your fitness to serve as a judicial officer. The foregoing

Page 24 of 26
behavior constitutes inappropriate conduct that violates Canons 1, 2A, 3B(2), 3B(4)

and 3B(8) of the Code of Judicial Conduct

You are hereby notified of your right to file a written answer to these charges

within twenty (20) days of service of this notice upon you. The original of your

response and all subsequent pleadings must be filed with the Clerk of the Florida

Supreme Court, in accordance with the Court’s requirements. Copies of your

response should be served in the undersigned Counsel for the Judicial Qualifications

Commission

THE FLORIDA JUDICIAL

QUALIFICATIONS COMMISSION

By AEE —
Hugh R. Brown
Assistant General Counsel
Florida Bar No. 0003484
P.O. Box 14160
Tallahassee, Florida 32317
(850) 488-1581
hbrown@floridajqce.com

Page 25 of 26
 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice of
Investigation has been furnished by electronic service to the following parties, this
21st day of October, 2024

The Honorable Anne Marie Gennusa

Putnam County Courthouse
410 Saint Johns Avenue
Palatka, Florida 32177-4725

C/o Warren W. Lindsey, Esq

warren@lindseyferryparker.com
Counsel for Judge Gennusa

By Zoe
Hugh R. Brown
Assistant General Counsel

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