Threats to Shoot Lawyers Land Florida Judge Ethics Charges

A Florida judge has admitted in state Supreme Court filings that he crossed ethical lines when he threatened to shoot attorneys appearing before him.

Second Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith filed a stipulation with the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday agreeing with regulators that he violated six ethics provisions for jurists due to an outburst in his courtroom last September.

“I would like to tell the deputy to pull his gun and shoot all three of you as far as my level of frustration right now,” Smith said in a hearing where a family was fighting over an estate and battery matter.

Smith, who sits outside Tallahassee, insulted the lawyers’ competence, the clients, and the other members of the judiciary in a rant that led attorneys to seek his recusal in several matters.

He told them to “man up and look at your bar card real seriously and say, ‘Even if I got to hold my nose, I’m going to make this happen,’” or alternatively that he could keep them in the courtroom until midnight and they could console themselves with teddy bears and nursery rhymes.

Smith also told the lawyers that if they wouldn’t settle he’d schedule matters on “a very inconvenient date around Christmas” and said, “You all have had to pay three or four filing fees just based on the pure amount of time I’ve spent sweeping up the dung that the elephant dropped in this parade.”

In a filing Smith said that he admitted his misconduct and self-reported his actions to state regulators.

The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission is recommending that Smith receive a public reprimand, and did not ask the court to suspend him. The justices have the final say on attorney and judicial punishment for ethics violations.

The case is Inquiry Concerning a Judge, the Honorable J. Layne Smith, Fla., No. SC2026-0476, stipulation filed 3/24/26.