TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Supreme Court is suspending the law license of a former prosecutor who was involved in a relationship with a judge.
The court on Thursday ordered that Howard Scheinberg lose his license for two years for "serious misconduct.'' The Florida Bar had previously recommended a one year suspension.
Scheinberg was a prosecutor on a 2007 murder case. During that time he and then-Broward County Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner began a personal relationship and exchanged repeated phone calls and texts. Gardiner was presiding over the trial.
Omar Loureiro was convicted of first-degree murder, and Gardiner sentenced him to death. The conviction was vacated after her relationship with Scheinberg was disclosed. Loureiro was convicted after a second trial and sentenced to life in prison.
Gardiner resigned from the bench in 2010.
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