--- description: Judge Jerri Collins was sharply criticized on Tuesday morning for ordering a domestic violence victim to spend three days in jail last year title: Florida Judge Reprimanded For Jailing Domestic Abuse Victim image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15c6ccba2a68c546/6988a498524fc0d16edf95ca/domestic-abuse-judge-rebuked.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Florida Judge Reprimanded For Jailing Domestic Abuse Victim  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 1, 2016 7:03 PM CUT  Empty Jury Seats in Courtroom Empty Jury Seats in CourtroomSpaces Images—Getty Images/Blend Images RM  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 1, 2016 7:03 PM CUT A Florida judge was publicly rebuked for her treatment of a [domestic violence](http://motto.time.com/4439994/domestic-violence-pro-wrestling/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") victim this week, [the Orlando _Sentinel_ reported](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-judge-jerri-collins-scolded-by-florida-supreme-court-20160826-story.html "undefined"). In July 2015, Judge Jerri Collins held [a domestic violence victim](http://motto.time.com/4464260/domestic-violence-brain-injury/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined") in contempt and ordered her to spend three days in jail for failing to show up to court. When Collins asked the woman why she didn’t show up to court, the woman apologized and told Collins, while sobbing, that she failed to show up because she was struggling with depression and anxiety after the alleged abuse. “You think you’re going to have anxiety now? You haven’t even seen anxiety,” Collins told the woman, whose alleged abuser was [ultimately convicted of battery and sentenced to 16 days in jail.](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-judge-jerry-collins-jails-victim-reprimand-20160331-story.html "undefined") Video of the [incident was made public in October](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-judge-jerry-collins-jails-victim-reprimand-20160331-story.html "undefined"). [_Follow Motto on Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/ "undefined")_._ This summer, the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which polices Florida’s judges, said that though it was within Collins’ purview to send the woman to jail, she handled the case inappropriately. The JQC said that she should take [one course on domestic violence](http://motto.time.com/4326207/maybehedoesnthityou-domestic-abuse/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") and another on anger management and be publicly reprimanded for her actions, which was televised on Tuesday. “I cannot emphasize enough how intolerable your behavior was in this case,” Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga told Collins. “You berated and belittled a victim of domestic violence…You raised your voice, used sarcasm, spoke harshly and interrupted the victim.” Collins said she agreed that she handled the case incorrectly. \[[The Orlando _Sentinel_](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-judge-jerri-collins-scolded-by-florida-supreme-court-20160826-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4475778/florida-judge-domestic-abuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4475778/florida-judge-domestic-abuse/"},"headline":"Florida Judge Reprimanded For Jailing Domestic Abuse Victim","datePublished":"2016-09-01T19:03:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:16.956Z","description":"\"I cannot emphasize enough how intolerable your behavior was in this case\"","url":"https://time.com/4475778/florida-judge-domestic-abuse/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15c6ccba2a68c546/6988a498524fc0d16edf95ca/domestic-abuse-judge-rebuked.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15c6ccba2a68c546/6988a498524fc0d16edf95ca/domestic-abuse-judge-rebuked.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Empty chairs in jury box","caption":"Empty chairs in jury box","creditText":"Spaces Images—Getty Images/Blend Images RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4475778/florida-judge-domestic-abuse/","name":"Florida Judge Reprimanded For Jailing Domestic Abuse Victim"}}]}] ```