A glamorous judge who won re-election last year with nearly 65 percent of the vote is now under fire for a series of ethical lapses that have prompted Florida’s judicial watchdog to recommend she be formally disciplined.
Judge Stefanie Moon, a longtime fixture in Broward County’s legal circles, is facing a public reprimand and a fine for alleged conduct that includes mixing campaign politics with her courtroom authority, and making improper political contributions while on the bench.
The Florida Supreme Court will now decide whether to accept the recommendation from the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC), which described Moon’s behavior as ‘inherently coercive’ and potentially damaging to public confidence in the judiciary.
Moon has now agreed to the reprimand and to pay a $2,115 fine, equal to the political donations she made to Democratic-aligned groups – contributions the commission said violated judicial canons.
At the center of the controversy is a moment that was captured on courtroom audio in February 2024, when Moon confronted attorney Michael Jones after a hearing, questioning why he hadn’t returned a call about joining her reelection campaign committee.
The call had been placed from her personal cellphone outside of work hours a month earlier. Under Florida’s judicial rules, such outreach is allowed as long as it is limited, indirect, and kept strictly outside the courtroom.
‘This is Judge Stefanie Moon. I hope you are well. I’m reaching out because I’m putting together my reelection committee and I was wondering if you would agree to serve. If you would kindly return my call, I’d greatly appreciate it,’ Judge Moon said in her voicemail to Jones.
But after dismissing a restraining order case in which Jones was representing a client, Judge Moon, still in her robe, seated in her courtroom, turned directly to the lawyer.
‘I left you a message,’ she told attorney Jones, shortly after dismissing a case in which he had been representing one of the parties.
Just before the courtroom audio was deactivated she asked him about his silence.
‘I said, ‘Yes, judge. You did.’ And she asked me why I didn’t return the court’s call,’ Jones recalled. ‘I was extremely uncomfortable.’
The JQC said it was ‘quite disturbed’ by Moon’s in-court remarks to Jones describing it as ‘an inappropriate political activity’ citing the power imbalance created when a judge questions an attorney in open court about campaign support.
‘The inherently coercive nature of the interaction… could reasonably raise questions about the judge’s integrity or impartiality,’ the commission concluded.
Moon later admitted that the exchange was inappropriate and could have been perceived as coercive – but she disputed the allegation that she asked Jones why he hadn’t returned her call, saying it was ‘self-evident.’
But it appears Moon’s missteps didn’t end there.
On Friday, the JQC released documents detailing additional violations, including her donations to political committees supporting Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, and ActBlue.
Florida’s judicial ethics rules bar sitting judges from contributing to political campaigns or partisan organizations.
The JQC said the fine and public reprimand were appropriate given Moon’s admission of wrongdoing, her expression of ‘deep regret’, and her cooperation with investigators.
The cumulative effect of her actions has prompted rare scrutiny for a judge once seen as a rising star in Broward legal circles.
Moon, who was elected to the Broward County circuit bench in 2018 following stints as an assistant US attorney and private civil litigator, has declined to comment publicly despite repeated requests from NBC6, which first exposed the election-related controversy last year.
Moon, who has served in family court since her election in 2018, also admitted to another violation: improperly contacting a mental health counselor who was scheduled to testify in a stalking case before her.
She phoned the witness outside the presence of attorneys and parties and began questioning him before he could testify in court, a clear violation of judicial protocol.
The JQC noted the action undermined procedural fairness and risked contaminating the integrity of the proceedings.
The commission described the conduct as serious but stopped short of recommending suspension or removal, citing her acknowledgment of misconduct and willingness to accept sanctions.
Concerns about her conduct have come from multiple corners of the legal community.
Johnny Weekes, her 2024 primary opponent, accused Moon of displaying a lack of respect and professionalism in her courtroom and said he ran against her to offer voters a different option.
Weekes believed ‘the candor, the respect that’s in that courtroom just is not there. And I thought Broward County needed something different,’ he explained.
He pointed to several troubling incidents, including her decision not to reschedule a Monday morning hearing to accommodate his travel with his teenage son – a hearing that Moon herself allegedly missed due to her own travel delays.
‘She wanted me in that courtroom, and I was there,’ Weekes told NBC6. ‘And she wasn’t.’
Jones, meanwhile, has vowed to ask Moon to recuse herself from any future cases he argues before her.
‘Not returning a judge’s call who directly looks for your help puts me in a bad situation,’ he said. ‘I felt intimidated.’
Though Moon has consented to the reprimand and fine, the final word now lies with the Florida Supreme Court, which can accept, reject, or modify the JQC’s recommendation.
If it agrees, Moon would be publicly reprimanded – a formal mark of censure – but could remain on the bench.
Moon’s supporters say she is meticulous and fair, and that the violations should be viewed as lapses in judgment, not patterns of misconduct.
‘Judge Moon is one of the most ethical, methodical, thorough judges I’ve ever appeared in front of. Everything in her courtroom is by the book,’ said attorney Valerie Small-Williams, who served on Moon’s reelection committee. ‘I don’t think her intent was to violate anything.’
While some might see a troubling trend that undermines the very foundation of the judiciary, last August voters returned Moon to the bench with nearly 65 percent of the vote.