Investigation into Jeff Ashton ends after voters kicked him out of office

A state judiciary panel has closed the investigation into ex-Orange County Judge Jeff Ashton for inappropriate behavior in the courtroom, according to new documents.

The panel voluntarily closed the case before a final hearing convened since Ashton is now out of a job and has promised not to return to oversee a courtroom.

Voters ousted the Judge in November. Ashton, who made headlines as a prosecutor in the Casey Anthony trial, has agreed not to hold another judicial office or be a senior Judge, according to the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission filing.

Ashton was under investigation by the state panel for raising his voice in the courtroom, threatening a plaintiff’s attorney with direct criminal contempt, and playing favorites by showing his biases in court. 

“While presiding over cases, trials, hearings, and other proceedings, you have behaved intemperately, including shouting at people appearing before you, and otherwise lacking the patience, dignity, and courtesy required by the Code of Judicial Conduct. It is also alleged that your conduct in certain instances evinced bias for or against parties or attorneys appearing before you,” the panel, which investigates complaints against Judges, said in an Oct. 2 filing that gave formal notice of the charges.

“Your repeated unwillingness or inability to govern your behavior raises questions about your fitness for judicial office.”

Ashton’s lawyer responded to the formal charges on Oct. 22. “Judge Ashton denies that he behaved with intemperate behavior. Judge Ashton acknowledges that he has at times struggled with patience, but he has treated those who appear before him with dignity and courtesy.”

In the end, voters were the ones who took action.

Alicia Peyton, who outraised him, defeated Ashton with 64% of the vote during the Nov. 5 election to claim the Judge’s bench in the 9th Judicial Circuit.

Ashton became a household name for his role as a prosecutor in the 2011 murder case that made national headlines when Anthony was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.