Osceola judge reprimanded by Florida Supreme Court over delays
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday issued a public reprimand of an Osceola County circuit judge after an investigative panel found "significant" delays in his handling of cases.
The Supreme Court issued a two-page order that served as the reprimand of Judge John Beamer. An investigative panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission this year filed what is known as a notice of formal charges against Beamer and also said it had reached an agreement with Beamer that would lead to a public reprimand.
The Supreme Court has ultimate disciplinary authority over judges. One document filed by the investigative panel said the chief judge of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which includes Osceola County, met with Beamer on "no less than three occasions between late 2021 and early 2023 to discuss complaints about his delays in entering rulings and to stress the importance of entering prompt rulings."
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Beamer has been a judge since 2020.
"The commission credits Judge Beamer’s candid response to the investigative panel, and his willingness to work to clear out the backlog," the document said. "However, the commission has serious concerns that it took the involvement of the commission for him to address this issue, after the chief judge met and counseled the respondent (Beamer) repeatedly about the need to render prompt rulings."