Florida Bar Files Amended Complaint Against Attorney Belinda Noah for Misrepresentations in Judicial Applications

On Thursday, October 17, 2024, The Florida Bar filed an amended complaint against attorney Belinda Noah with the Supreme Court of Florida. The complaint alleges numerous instances of misconduct on Noah’s part relating to her applications and interviews for judicial positions in Florida.

The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. Belinda Noah,” with case no. 2023-10,068(13D).

Noah is an attorney licensed in Florida since 1983 and has sought nominations for circuit court judge and Florida Supreme Court justice in recent years.

The Bar alleges Noah misrepresented her legal experience and history of cases during a 2020 interview with the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission for a Supreme Court vacancy. Specifically, Noah overstated the number of bankruptcy cases she had handled recently when questioned despite court records only finding a few cases since 2009 where Noah was counsel of record.

Noah is also accused of omitting details of past suspensions from her application for circuit court judge in Hillsborough County. In 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court initiated disciplinary proceedings against Noah for incompetently handling bankruptcy client cases. She was eventually suspended from taking new bankruptcy cases in 2011. Noah later received a 30-day suspension from the Florida Supreme Court in 2014 for related misconduct. However, Noah did not disclose these past disciplinary actions and suspensions in her circuit court application questionnaire.

Additionally, the Bar argues Noah misstated facts about her court and case activity. On the application, Noah claimed to have appeared in court on average once a month in the last five years but her last documented court appearance was in 2013. Noah also allegedly failed to provide the required attachments to the application when asked for details of her past lawsuits and bankruptcy filings.

The complaint also lists instances where Noah allegedly misled the public about her qualifications and experience while campaigning for circuit judge. This includes falsely claiming a Ph.D. degree and attendance at Harvard Law School on her public profiles.

The amended complaint states:

“The Florida Bar respectfully requests that this Court appropriately discipline the respondent under the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.”

According to avvo.com, Ms. Noah acquired her law license in Florida in 1983.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.