Judicial Behavior Under Scrutiny

In January, I wrote a blog about Judge Hauser, who was a domestic relations sectional circuit judge here in Orange County, and the circumstances surrounding his divorce. It seems that Judge Hauser's life is under scrutiny again, as a woman has come forward to claim that she was a victim of Judge Hauser's unwanted sexual advances. The Judicial Qualifications Committee is investigating Judge Hauser, and may order that sanctions be assessed for his alleged unethical behavior. The question for me is not whether or not the woman making the accusations is telling the truth about the unwanted sexual advances, but why a judge had put himself into such a situation in the first place. Judge's, like all of us, are human. However, we hold them up to a different moral standard than other's because we are looking to them to make decisions about our lives, especially in the context of domestic relations. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I hope that we do not read about any other judge whose behavior is being considered to be unethical by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee.

If you would like to read the latest story about Judge Hauser, visit: http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/63498.html