Nine months after she celebrated her election, Palm Beach County Judge Dana Santino this week will fight allegations that her campaign tactics were so offensive that she should be removed from the bench.

In an unusual two-day hearing, which will be a first for a Palm Beach County judge, Santino and her lawyer will try to convince a panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission that she is deeply remorseful for blasting her opponent for representing "murderers, rapists, child molesters and other criminals."

Charged with violating four canons that dictate how judicial candidates are to behave, the former guardianship and probate attorney has admitted that her attacks on criminal defense attorney Gregg Lerman violated two of them. But, in court papers, her attorney, Jeremy Kroll, insists she has a stellar record of legal service and has learned from her mistakes.

Instead of recommending to the Florida Supreme Court that Santino be removed from office, he suggested the six-member panel of two judges, two lawyers and two citizens save her nascent judicial career. Kroll suggested she receive a public reprimand and a $50,000 fine — the same punishment an Escambia County judge received in 2003 for making similar claims on the campaign trail.

"In light of Judge Santino’s otherwise pristine history and character, and in light of her acceptance of responsibility, no evidence — let alone clear and convincing evidence — supports a finding of present unfitness … for judicial office," he wrote.

However, an attorney for the judicial watchdog group wasn’t nearly as charitable in his written comments to the panel, which will convene Wednesday and Thursday in the Palm Beach County Courthouse to hear evidence in Santino’s case.

Without specifying what punishment Santino should receive, JQC Assistant General Counsel Alexander Williams pointed out in a blistering 11-page statement that other judges with unblemished legal careers have been removed from the bench for similar transgressions. Santino’s attacks on Lerman weren’t just personal, they were attacks on the justice system, he said.

"Candidate Santino’s comments were not just inappropriate and undignified, they also delivered a hammer blow to the heart of the judiciary," he wrote. "In attacking her opponent, Judge Santino also struck a foul blow to a fundamental precept of the judicial system; calling into question her opponent, as well as her own, ability to be fair and impartial on the bench."

He also said Santino didn’t voice regret about the statements until after formal charges were filed against her in March by the investigative arm of the judicial commission. When an ethics advisory committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association warned her shortly before the November election that comments on her campaign Facebook page about Lerman violated judicial canons, she ignored their concerns, he said.

"I appreciate the opinion of the commission; however, as the commission itself discloses in their letter, it is just that — their opinion," she told The Palm Beach Post in a written statement.

Likewise, when other lawyers complained about an email her supporters sent out, decrying Lerman’s defense work, she told the paper: "I’m proud of our justice system and while every person is entitled to a defense, Mr. Lerman is not a public defender and chooses to represent individuals who commit heinous crimes."

Not only did Santino’s comment ignore the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees every defendant the right to be represented by an attorney, but, Williams said, she also claimed Lerman "has made a lot of money trying to free Palm Beach County’s worst criminals."

In many of the cases, Lerman was appointed by the court to make sure an accused criminal received a fair trial, Williams wrote. Further, he said Santino’s comments were a blatant attempt to paint Lerman as a judge who would be soft on criminals.

"Far from protecting the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary, in making these reckless, undignified, uniformed, and disparaging statements about her opponent, Judge Santino disparaged her opponent and eroded the public’s perception of fairness and impartiality … required by judicial officers," he wrote.

Santino, Lerman and Santino’s campaign manager, Richard Giorgio, will be called to testify before the panel, which will be chaired by 5th Circuit Judge Michelle Morley. Santino will call three character witnesses, including County Judge Ted Booras, her attorney said. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath, who until recently served as chief judge, will be called to testify about her work on the bench. Ten people, including seven attorneys, have written letters on her behalf.

Like other attorneys who wrote letters, defense attorney Steven Cohen said he found Santino’s comments about Lerman offensive. But, he said, she deserves a second chance. "This is a fundamentally good judge and person who was inexperienced in the election process and had made a bad judgment," he wrote.

Santino isn’t the first county judge to face disciplinary action, but she is the first whose case is going to a hearing.

Two other judges settled their cases before hearings were held. Judge Barry Cohen received a public reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court in 2014 after the JQC accused him of using his bench as a bully pulpit to espouse his liberal beliefs. Judge Howard Berman resigned in 2000 days before the commission was to hold hearings on allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances to six women.

Editor’s Note: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Palm Beach County Judge Dana Santino as a circuit judge.