Florida Judge’s Distasteful ‘Jokes’ Place Him in Ethics Hot Seat

A Democratic circuit judge who previously served as minority leader in the Florida state Senate is facing suspension for telling jokes from the bench that insulted the politics or character of those that appeared before him.

Gary M. Farmer Jr.'s behavior included telling a Republican defense attorney that “MAGA and public defender” were “mutually exclusive” and informing a Trump-supporting defendant that she and the president had something in common—"they were both convicted felons.”

Farmer’s routine jokes from the bench—many sexual in nature—crossed the line and harmed the public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, according to an ...