Florida Judge Resigns After Ethics Charges for Campaign Attack

Florida Circuit Court Judge Nancy Jacobs, under scrutiny for calling her opponent a “bigot” in a heated campaign, is resigning from the bench.

Jacobs (D), a Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Judge in Hillsborough County, will leave the bench on May 31 and has submitted her resignation to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), she said in a notice filed with the Florida Supreme Court Friday.

“I step aside with my integrity intact and my voice unwavering,” Jacobs said in a statement. “I remain committed to the rule of law, to civil liberties, and to the idea that no person should be silenced for speaking out on matters of public concern.”

State judicial ethics regulators were seeking to remove Jacobs over heated rhetoric in a 2022 campaign in which she beat Jared Smith, a Republican who said that Jacobs “needs Jesus.” Jacobs, who is Jewish, criticized Smith’s rulings on abortion and called him a “‘bigot,’ ‘not a good person,’ and someone who hates Jews.”

Jacobs fought the ethical complaint for months, arguing that her comments were First Amendment protected political speech.

The case is JQC re: Hon. Nancy Jacobs, Fla., No. SC2023-1303, notice of resignation filed 5/16/25.