A former judicial candidate has had his license to practice law suspended for 91 days after the Florida Supreme Court determined that he had violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct for posting anti-gay and anti-Muslim screeds on social media.
Donald McBath, a retired attorney and Florida Bar member who lost to Doneene Loar in the nonpartisan primary for for Florida’s 6th Circuit Court in 2018, is one of 15 attorneys in the Sunshine State disciplined by the state’s high court this month. The list of such candidates only just became available, even though the court order suspending McBath’s license was issued on Nov. 27.
In its write-up of McBath’s suspension, the high court wrote that the lawyer “made written and oral statements concerning his political affiliations and his views of classes of parties and issues that were hate-filled, unprofessional and inappropriate.”
In a complaint filed against him by the Florida Bar, McBath was accused of violating the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct when he made comments on social media that “failed to maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office and act in a manner that is consistent with impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary,” reports The Miami Herald.
The complaint also accuses McBath of opining on certain classes of parties, cases, or issues that “are likely to come before the court,” making promises to rule in certain ways that betray his ability to be impartial in such cases, and of expressing stances on political issues, as well as touting his support for Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
McBath responded to the 20-part complaint against him with the following statement: “1-20. ADMIT.”
McBath’s comments include Twitter posts in which he says to “never trust a Muslim” and “Muslims are deranged.”
He also tweeted: “If the homosexual continues committing that sin of sodomy, his soul faces ETERNAL damnation. Abstain, if you really have that mental illness. It’s not love.”
He also made comments calling an abortion doctor “satanic,” and, in another post, called liberals “very sick people” who “have no Judeo-Christian values.”
McBath is currently serving his 91-day suspension concurrently with a year’s suspension he received for what the Herald classifies as “incompetence and laziness” in a separate case.
Trespassing charges have been dismissed against Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old transgender woman from Illinois who is believed to be the first person arrested under Florida’s ban on transgender bathroom use in public buildings.
On June 20, Leon County Judge Lashawn Riggans granted a motion from Rheintgen’s attorney to dismiss the case after the state failed to file charging documents and other required paperwork within 90 days of her arrest -- violating her Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
Riggans ruled that because the state failed to act, the charges had to be dismissed “because the speedy trial period has expired” -- a reference to Rheintgen’s Sixth Amendment right, which protects defendants from undue delays in the legal process.
In a tense House hearing, a pair of congressional Democrats blasted Pentagon officials for stripping gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship, accusing the military of erasing LGBTQ history. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), an out gay Democrat, directly confronted Navy Secretary John Phelan over the decision during the June 11 Armed Services Committee meeting.
"I just wanted to take a moment to talk about a veteran who served on a submarine as a diving officer during the Korean War," Sorensen said, referring to Milk's biography before actually naming him.
"Right now, more than ever, we need global solidarity. And WorldPride is probably the closest thing we have to a visible manifestation of the unity we have across borders," says Ymania Brown, one of the co-presidents of InterPride, the international umbrella organization of Pride organizers.
"The goal for us at InterPride and for WorldPride is for our members and everyone who comes to WorldPride in Washington, to walk away knowing that we are not alone," she continues. "That our struggles, while unique in different countries and different regions, are shared. And as a result of that shared struggle, our victories, and the successes we have in changing laws for our people, are collective."
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A former judicial candidate has had his license to practice law suspended for 91 days after the Florida Supreme Court determined that he had violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct for posting anti-gay and anti-Muslim screeds on social media.
Donald McBath, a retired attorney and Florida Bar member who lost to Doneene Loar in the nonpartisan primary for for Florida’s 6th Circuit Court in 2018, is one of 15 attorneys in the Sunshine State disciplined by the state’s high court this month. The list of such candidates only just became available, even though the court order suspending McBath’s license was issued on Nov. 27.
In its write-up of McBath’s suspension, the high court wrote that the lawyer “made written and oral statements concerning his political affiliations and his views of classes of parties and issues that were hate-filled, unprofessional and inappropriate.”
In a complaint filed against him by the Florida Bar, McBath was accused of violating the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct when he made comments on social media that “failed to maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office and act in a manner that is consistent with impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary,” reports The Miami Herald.
The complaint also accuses McBath of opining on certain classes of parties, cases, or issues that “are likely to come before the court,” making promises to rule in certain ways that betray his ability to be impartial in such cases, and of expressing stances on political issues, as well as touting his support for Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
McBath responded to the 20-part complaint against him with the following statement: “1-20. ADMIT.”
McBath’s comments include Twitter posts in which he says to “never trust a Muslim” and “Muslims are deranged.”
He also tweeted: “If the homosexual continues committing that sin of sodomy, his soul faces ETERNAL damnation. Abstain, if you really have that mental illness. It’s not love.”
He also made comments calling an abortion doctor “satanic,” and, in another post, called liberals “very sick people” who “have no Judeo-Christian values.”
McBath is currently serving his 91-day suspension concurrently with a year’s suspension he received for what the Herald classifies as “incompetence and laziness” in a separate case.
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