Broward Judge Gary Farmer suspended without pay over off-color statements
The suspension of Broward Circuit Judge Gary Farmer takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday, by order of the Florida Supreme Court.
The action came just a few days after Farmer, through attorney Michael Dutko, argued that he should not be suspended without pay because the allegations of misconduct against him did not include any allegation that Broward residents were 'victimized by any illegal, dishonest, or immoral conduct.'
What he did do, by his own admission, was make statements from the bench that called into question how seriously he was taking his job as an overseer in the administration of justice.
In one afternoon last summer, he was recorded telling one defendant to wear a condom while on probation, nearly using profanity while having another defendant removed from his courtroom, and repeating flamboyant gay stereotypes from the 1990s sketch comedy show 'In Living Color.'
At the time, Farmer presided over third-degree felony cases, many of which resulted in little to no prison time for first-time offenders, depending on the severity of the case. According to Dutko, Farmer was trying to provide some degree of relief for those who found themselves appearing before him.
Earlier this year, the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which is the state's watchdog for judicial misconduct, filed formal charges accusing Farmer of violating the rules governing judges' behavior on and off the bench.
Farmer was elected to the bench in 2022 after serving in the Florida Legislature, where he rose to the position of minority leader until his fellow Democrats ousted him from the role in 2021.
His suspension is the third ordered against a Broward judge this month. Last week, Circuit Judge Mardi Levey Cohen was ordered to serve a 10-day suspension for spreading unverified information about her opponent in the 2024 election, while Circuit Judge Stephanie Moon was suspended for 10 days after she admitted questioning a lawyer about her campaign from the bench.
In the cases against Levey Cohen and Moon, the suspensions appear to signal the end of the disciplinary action they face. But the Florida Supreme Court made it clear that the case against Farmer was just getting started, and he will not be able to serve as a judge or as an attorney until it's resolved.
Also last week, the JQC filed formal ethics charges against County Judge Lauren Peffer, who was accused of spreading false information during her campaign without vetting it for accuracy.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
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