Putnam County Court Judge Anne Marie Gennusa (Seventh Judicial Circuit Court).
A Florida judge accused of ethics violations for inappropriately sentencing people to criminal contempt defended her actions by saying she had not yet gone to Florida Judicial College.
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission filed a 21-page complaint against Judge Anne Marie Gennusa Oct. 21, alleging violations of ethics rules that include conducting “improper or legally deficient” contempt proceedings. Gennusa was appointed to the bench in 2023 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and presides over misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases at the Putnam County Court House in Palatka.
The commission specifically cited ethics rules that require judges to “respect and comply with the law, “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary,” “maintain professional competence,” and “be patient, dignified, and courteous” to litigants and professionals.
Gennusa was accused of “casual and illegal use” of her contempt power in these three specific cases.
The complaint said that Gennusa demonstrated “intemperate conduct” that lacked the patience and dignity required by the ethical code in her handling of a case called State v. Boone. In the case, which occurred in January, Gennusa held a misdemeanor battery defendant and an alleged victim in contempt after they twice argued in open court. The victim was handcuffed in court and held in custody for nearly three hours.
Gennusa told the 22-year-old defendant that he was being disrespectful after the man asked to speak to his mother in the gallery. Gennusa told the man’s mother, “He’s an adult … I can’t have you—” which in turn prompted the defendant to argue with the victim.
“This is not ‘The Jerry Springer Show’,” Gennusa told him, then said, “You gonna get loud on me?” and ordered the defendant taken into custody until after lunch.
During the same hearing, Gennusa addressed the prosecutor and asked, “Do you want to speak to your alleged victim?” with sarcastic emphasis on the word “alleged.”
The victim then spoke up to the prosecutor and said she was getting “irritated” and did not “like being spoken to like a child,” and did not “understand what is going on.” Gennusa overheard, and responded by instructing a courtroom deputy to “Take her into contempt too.”
Gennusa said, “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.”
Later, Gennusa defended her behavior by saying that she had vomiting with a fever prior to ordering the contempt charges.
The commission said Gennusa’s comments and tone were undignified and her contempt orders were illegal.
In another case, In re: M.R.A., J.F.A., Gennusa held a mother of three truant children in direct criminal contempt and sentenced her to 10 days in jail. The mother testified that the children were experiencing psychological trauma as a result of witnessing their father’s murder at the hands of their maternal grandfather. The mother also explained that the children were required to leave town to speak with the investigating detective.
According to the complaint, Gennusa “inexplicably” interrupted the mother’s testimony and said, “I get all that — I understand — I get all that, but that’s not a reason for the kids not to go to school.”
Gennusa claimed that the mother’s conduct was “belligerent” and “deplorable,” but according to the ethics complaint, the hearing recording simply did not support the assessment.
According to the complaint, Gennusa said to the mother:
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.
The complaint also note that Gennusa failed to address, or even inquire, as to the potential effect on the welfare of the minor children before ordering that the mother was taking into custody.
In the case of State v. Morrison, Gennusa sentenced a defendant to criminal contempt for his behavior in the courtroom during a separate case. A courtroom deputy told Morrison, who had been seated in the gallery waiting for his own case involving a driving offense, to remove his hat and leave the courtroom when his cellphone rang. As Morrison left, he told the deputy, “Go f— yourself.”
Gennusa overheard the remark, instructed the deputy to bring Morrison in from the hallway and found him guilty of criminal contempt. Gennusa sentenced the man to 60 days in county jail.
The man apologized to Gennusa for his behavior and asked the judge for a “little bit of grace.” He then told the judge that he had been going through a difficult court battle involving his child and that he had recently been in a motorcycle accident as he cried in the courtroom. He also said that he recently started a new job and had no money for an attorney.
The ethics committee said that while the 60-day sentence was technically legal, it “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.”
Gennusa, who has practiced law for 29 years, spoke in her own defense at a hearing and blamed her behavior on the fact that she had not yet attended he Florida Judicial College.
In the complaint, the commission said, “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 criminal contempt.”
The commission said that Gennusa acknowledged in person that her conduct fell below the high standard expected of judges and that she should have been more patient and courteous.
“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 commission wrote.
Before becoming a judge, Gennusa was owner and managing partner of her own law firm and is admitted to practice law in Florida, New York, and before the United States Supreme Court. She has worked as an assistant public defender, assistant state attorney, Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator, and a qualified arbitrator.
Gennusa now has 20 days to respond to the commission’s charges.
You can read the full ethics complaint against Gennusa here.
Law&Crime reached out to counsel for Gennusa for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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