The Judicial Qualifications Commission is vested with jurisdiction to investigate and recommend to the Supreme Court of Florida the removal from office of any judge whose conduct demonstrates a present unfitness to hold office and to investigate and recommend the reprimand of a judge whose conduct warrants such a reprimand. In addition to the commission's disciplinary process, the Florida House of Representatives has the authority to impeach judges, who then are tried for misconduct in the Florida Senate and may be removed from office. The commission is composed of two judges each from the district courts of appeal, the circuit courts, and the county courts; four members of The Florida Bar; and five residents who have never held judicial office or been members of the bar. All proceedings of the commission are confidential until formal charges are filed with the clerk of the Florida Supreme Court, after which time proceedings are open to the public.
The commission is divided into an investigative panel and a hearing panel as established by rule of the commission. The investigative panel is vested with the jurisdiction to receive or initiate complaints, conduct investigations, dismiss complaints, and upon a vote of a simple majority of the panel submit formal charges to the hearing panel. The hearing panel is vested with the authority to receive and hear formal charges from the investigative panel and upon a two-thirds vote of the panel recommend to the Supreme Court the removal of a justice or judge or the involuntary retirement of a justice or judge for any permanent disability that seriously interferes with the performance of judicial duties. Upon a simple majority vote of the membership of the hearing panel, the panel may recommend to the Supreme Court that the justice or judge be subject to appropriate discipline. In Fiscal Year 2021-22, 711 complaints were received, of which 32 were investigated. Of these investigated cases, formal charges were filed in one case.