One criminal defense expert tells the IN that judges like Shackleford and Judge Linda Nobles are known not to set bonds for VOP (Violations of Parole), since the Florida Constitution doesn’t require them.
It’s done as a time-saving or corner-cutting measure in a backlogged court system. Some judges, though, like Judge Thomas Johnson, are organized and do set VOP bonds quickly so people do not languish in jail.
Shackleford, a former prosecutor, is seen as harsh, quick to judge and not having a grip on reality since she’s never represented a criminal client. She currently is letting another man, John Chapman, sit in jail for months on an alleged VOP violation, even though he was the primary care giver to his wife stricken with bone cancer.
Chapman’s violation, which he reported to his probation officer, was there were no vacancies in a Gainesville hotel he was ordered to stay in, after he brought his wife for treatment at Shands…