Disgraced judge booted from bench 6 years ago files qualifying papers to run again
Former Circuit Judge Scott DuPont, who was booted from the bench by the state Supreme Court, has qualified to run for a circuit judge seat on the 7th Judicial Circuit. DuPont said in an interview that he has matured and wants to follow his "calling" to serve as a judge.
The Florida Supreme Court in a 2018 unanimous vote removed DuPont from the bench. The state Supreme Court stated he was unfit to serve and cited egregious campaign violations as well as judicial canon violations.
The Florida Supreme Court also suspended DuPont in 2019 from practicing law for 91 days based on the violations that got him booted from the bench. And while the Supreme Court tossed DuPont from his position, its order did not bar him from running again.
And that is what DuPont is doing, filing qualifying papers Tuesday to run against incumbent Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy in the group 11 race for the 7th Circuit. Preddy has also qualified to run during the qualifying period which ends on Friday. Preddy filed a lawsuit Friday claiming DuPont fails to meet an eligibility requirement.
DuPont, 52, now lives in Palm Coast and said many people have been asking him to run for judge.
“The JQC (Judicial Qualifications Commission) has spoken," DuPont said in a phone interview. "The Florida Bar has spoken. Now it’s time for the people to speak.”
DuPont won a 2016 election against challenger Malcolm Anthony but some of his actions on the campaign trail led to his dismissal.
The Florida Supreme Court stated in a 2018 opinion that DuPont was unfit to serve on the bench after he "knowingly misrepresent(ed) facts about the Anthonys during his 2016 campaign," the opinion states.
DuPont posted on a website what he described as “possible matching arrest records” for Anthony’s wife and his daughter, but neither had ever been arrested.
The Supreme Court found that DuPont’s “careless” actions caused potential harm to Anthony’s family. The justices said that such carelessness is inconsistent with a judge promoting confidence in the judiciary.
The Supreme Court also found that DuPont violated judicial canons when he ordered that a man be searched and his $180 seized during a family court hearing in 2011. The Supreme Court said it has previously condemned “such unlawful, judicially ordered seizures in open court.”
The court also cited a first appearance hearing DuPont conducted during Memorial Day 2016. DuPont held the hearing without attorneys present to suit his campaign schedule, disrespecting the attorneys and the inmates, the justices found. DuPont has offered no excuse or explanation, the justices found.
The court followed the recommendations of an ethics panel which stated that DuPont showed a “reckless disregard for the truth.”
DuPont says he has gained 'humility, empathy, maturity'
In a campaign video, DuPont says some of the things he was accused of he didn’t do or didn’t do to the extent it was alleged. But in the phone interview, he declined to share specifics, saying his offenses were well-documented.
“I can tell you I won’t make the same mistakes twice,” DuPont said.
He said going through the disciplinary process has increased his empathy, humility and maturity.
“Humans aren’t perfect,” DuPont said. “Judges are human. And you know while I was not a perfect judge. I was a faithful judge. I was faithful to the people. I was faithful to my duties.”
Why should voters give him a second time when the Florida Supreme Court said in 2018 he was unfit to be a judge?
“My response is 'That was then, this is now,'” DuPont said. “And a lot has happened over the last six years. If I was unfit, then the Florida Bar would not have reinstated me to practice law.”
DuPont states in the video that he has a thriving general law practice called My DUI Guy in St. Augustine. DuPont said in a campaign video that he would have to take a pay cut to be a judge. Judges earn $191,163 per year during their six-year terms.
So why run for judge again? DuPont said it's his calling.
“I’m pursuing my purpose," he said. "I’m not angry. I’m not bitter. I’m not being vindictive. All I’m doing is pursuing my purpose in life.”
'Grueling, breaking process'
Before the interview, DuPont referred a News-Journal reporter to his campaign video. The one-hour, 18-minute-long video is in the format of an interview. For about the first 37 minutes, DuPont talks about what he says are his accomplishments as a judge. Then the woman interviewing him asks him to tell her about his removal from office. DuPont said in the phone interview that the woman was a person who wanted to help with his campaign.
“So, like I said before, I had run two successful campaigns, and unfortunately, during that time, I had made some mistakes and it ultimately led to to my removal. I can tell you, right now that it was without question, the most difficult time in my life and also in my family's life,” DuPont said in the video.
DuPont did not go into the specifics of his removal. But he referred to the situation as “the grueling, breaking process.”
He credits his wife and his adopted daughter with helping him through it.
He said his family moved to Virginia and he got a job doing lawn care. He said he did not want to practice law anymore.
“But after a year, it became evident that that's what God had for me. And so I went back to Florida; we moved back, reopened our law practice,” DuPont said.
But then he was suspended and had to shut down his law practice. He was later reinstated.
He said he applied for many jobs and could not get one except for one in a warehouse by the adoption agency where they adopted their daughter. He said with that job it took him three full days of work to make what he used to earn in one hour.
DuPont said his religious faith grew through the experience. He said as a young judge he was immature and that going through "the process" gave him empathy and life experience, which are good qualities for a judge.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-judge Scott Dupont, booted from the bench, files to run again
