Judge Merrilee Ehrlich. Photo: Melanie Bell

The variety of ways found by judges and other lawyers in South Florida to get into ethical trouble seems almost bottomless, and prison is sometimes the final stop on this downhill route.

Broward judges led the region in exiting their courthouse seats in 2018. The digital world is a factor when hearing videos generate click.

Attorneys wound up on the wrong side of an FBI sting and an insurance kickback probe.

Here are some of the year's most-read tales of woe:

1. Broward Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich's retirement began weeks earlier than initially planned after a hearing video went viral.
2. The question of how to handle trial continuance request when the lead attorney's pregnancy is advanced went against a Shook, Hardy & Bacon litigator.
3. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel resigned after her husband was charged with four felonies tied to a land deal.
4. It's not often that a Florida Supreme Court disbarment order revolves around “obnoxious” behavior.
5. Racial slurs directed at black defendants cost Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stephen Thomas Millan his seat.
6. Personal injury attorney Jason Dalley heads to prison in an insurance kickback scandal.
7. In an unusual move, the Florida Supreme Court orders a Palm Beach judge's immediate expulsion.
8. Where did an FBI sting take a well-connected Broward attorney-lobbyist?
9. Broward Circuit Judge John Contini lost his seat and his Florida Bar license.
10. Broward County Court Judge Claudia Robinson steps down after appointing her former campaign manager to  mediate more than 200 cases.