If justice is blind and love is blind, then what is a judge who is a dating a prosecutor?
Unethical, according to the state Judicial Qualifications Committee.
Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner allegedly was in a relationship with former assistant state attorney Howard Scheinberg during a first-degree murder case that ended in a guilty verdict and the defendant on death row.
The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Gardiner and Scheinberg never revealed their personal relationship to the defense, a crafty strategy, but unethical and illegal.
During the murder trial in 2007, the two legal love birds 949 phone calls and 474 text messages, according to the JQC complaint. Can you say, conflict of interest?
A jury found 47-year old Omar Loureiro guilty of first-degree murder for the slaying of a Lighthouse Point and Gardiner sentenced him to death afterward.
If Gardiner is found guilty of the ethics violations, she could be removed from the bench. She is currently handling civil cases and it's not clear if she is still dating prosecutors.
