Judge Lynn Rosenthal Pleads No Contest to Reckless Driving Charge

Broward County Judge Lynn Rosenthal pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless driving after the state attorney’s office declined all DUI charges against her for an accident in the parking lot of a Fort Lauderdale courthouse.

Rosenthal’s attorney, Brian Silber, said the judge pled no contest and prosecutors decided to withhold adjudication. Rosenthal was sentenced to one-day probation, which began and ends today.

Silber said Judge Rosenthal qualified for a short probation because she’s served 25 hours of community service, viewed a basic victim impact panel, and submitted to a substance abuse evaluation conducted by a doctor from outside of the area. Silber said the doctor concluded Rosenthal doesn’t have any alcohol or substance abuse problem and no treatment is necessary.

Judge Rosenthal was arrested earlier this year after she allegedly crashed her car into a parked patrol car. The police report of the incident said Judge Rosenthal’s SUV hit the patrol car and then hit the security gate several times before deputies were able to get to the driver.

Deputies said in the police report that Judge Rosenthal then got out of her vehicle and "appeared unsteady on her feet, her speech was slurred and she had difficulty obtaining the required documents." However, deputies said they did not detect an odor of alcohol on the judge’s breath.

When advised deputies were conducting a DUI investigation, Judge Rosenthal told law enforcement she “had not consumed any alcohol for a long time,” according to the police report.

The police report said Judge Rosenthal told deputies that she had been involved in another accident on I-595 earlier in the morning. She said a truck had tried to run her off of the road and she had video of the incident on her cell phone.

When Rosenthal showed the investigating deputies her video, her SUV was seen “drifting between lanes and over the solid yellow lane line into the breakdown line” and eventually it collided with the concrete barrier wall, according to the police report. Deputies said they never saw a truck or any other vehicle influence her driving.

Judge Rosenthal agreed to a field sobriety test and said she was not injured, but had taken an Ambien CR at 10 p.m. Monday.

During the sobriety test, deputies said the judge failed to maintain balance during instructions, missed all heel-to-toe steps, raised arms to maintain balance, stopped during turn to request instructions to continue the exercise. The judge also had problems standing on one leg, according to the arrest report.

When the judge was given a breath test for alcohol, she blew a .000 on two tests. Judge Rosenthal refused to submit to a urine or blood test. She was arrested for DUI and a traffic offense-DUI and damage property. She was taken to the BSO Main Jail and her cell phone was taken as evidence.

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