West Palm Beach attorney Sally Gayle Schmidt has been suspended for one year following a June 29 Florida Supreme Court order for violating the terms of a 2015 order after a history of intervention and discipline for alleged alcohol abuse, according to a recent Florida State Bar report.
Schmidt's suspension was effective immediately, according to the state bar July 31 report that announced the discipline and the high court's order. She also was ordered to pay monitoring fee arrearages of $800 and, as a condition of reinstatement, she must undergo a Florida Lawyers Assistance substance abuse evaluation and receive that body's recommendation in support of reinstatement.
Schmidt was found in contempt for violating the terms of a September 2015 state supreme court order handed down when she failed to file a response to a show cause order. At that time, she was suspended for 91 days and ordered to continue an additional three years in compliance with her Florida Lawyers Assistance rehabilitation contract. She also was ordered to participate in random urine testing and to have monthly personal contact with Florida Lawyers Assistance.
Schmidt was ordered to pay the state bar's costs of $1,250 under the terms of her 2015 suspension and the same amount again under the terms of her most recent suspension.
In Florida court orders are not final until after time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion would not alter the effective date of the Schmidt's suspension.
Schmidt was admitted to the bar in Florida on Dec. 21, 1984, according to her profile at the state bar website.
Her 2015 suspension and more recent suspensions were not the first times Schmidt has been disciplined. In April 2014, Schmidt was admonished, according to information on her state bar profile. That discipline stemmed from a 2010 DUI arrest and plea agreement, during which she admitted to an alcohol problem and voluntarily entered into a contract with Florida Lawyers Assistance for the next several years, according to the report of minor misconduct filed at the time.
Schmidt failed to successfully complete the terms of a diversion program and the state bar's grievance committee recommended the admonishment, which was entered in September 2014.