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Three judges in Broward County are in hot water due to their questionable behavior on and off the bench.
The Florida Supreme Court recently suspended Judge Gary Farmer ahead of a trial over his conduct in court, which included sexual comments and other actions the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) said diminished public confidence in the judiciary.
The JQC also filed charges against Lauren Peffer, whom it accused of promoting misinformation — including fake audio of numerous fellow judges — while campaigning last year.
Meanwhile, Judge Mardi Levey Cohen will be suspended and reprimanded for spreading dubious information during the 2022 election cycle.
“It’s an embarrassment to the circuit and to all the judges who have been working so hard to restore the reputation of the circuit," Chief Administrative Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips said Wednesday of the disciplinary cases faced by Broward judges. Phillips is seen in her chambers at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale in February this year. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Circuit Judge Gary Farmer is accused of repeatedly
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely suspended Broward County Circuit Judge Gary Farmer, a former Senate Democratic leader, after an investigative panel accused him of “pervasive and extensive” behavior demonstrating “unfitness to hold office.”
Farmer was elected as a judge in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit in 2022 after six years in the Florida Senate. He served as minority leader during the 2021 legislative session but was ousted after a vote of no confidence by fellow Democrats.
Arguing he has “learned his lesson,” Farmer’s lawyers urged the Supreme Court to reject an April 10 recommendation by an investigative panel of the state Judicial Qualifications Commission calling for his immediate suspension.
Wednesday’s court order said that Farmer’s suspension without pay will go into effect on Tuesday. Farmer, 62, will remain suspended until the allegations against him are resolved.
“The court encourages the commission to conduct any remaining proceedings promptly, in a manner consistent with the commission’s rules and the procedural rights of the respondent (Farmer),” the order said.
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Broward judges face discipline from Supreme Court
Three judges serving in Broward County have caught the attention of the Florida Supreme Court, and not in a good way. NBC6's Tony Pipitone reports
The suspension recommendation also alleged Farmer “willfully ignored the requirements of applicable statutes or rules of procedure, or was unaware of the most basic elements of the law which governed his actions as a judge in the felony division.”
The panel “believes that his misconduct is egregious and serious, and could clearly affect the public's perception of the judiciary,” Alexander John Williams, an attorney for the commission, wrote.
“While Judge Farmer might argue that he has changed his behavior … the panel believes that in this case, the damage is already done,” the recommendation said.
The probe into Farmer began after a complaint about comments he made while presiding over felony cases in August. The panel found comments “discriminatory, offensive, sexually charged, and demeaning.”
As an example, Farmer “referenced and quoted extensively from a comedy sketch that makes fun of gay people,” documents filed by the commission said.
“That is not the only time you used double entendre as humor in the courtroom. While presiding over the August 15, 2024, hearing you said, ‘Spring is here, I got so excited I wet my plants’ and ‘What did the shirt say to the pair of pants? Wassup britches!’ Apparently, these are some of what you referred to as your ‘exceptionally, exceptionally bad jokes,’” the commission’s lawyer wrote in the notice of formal charges addressed to Farmer and filed at the Supreme Court.
Farmer’s lawyers, however, argued that the judge’s jokes were intended to “lighten tension, reduce stress for criminal defendants, and show a sense of humanity.” They likened his comments to “‘Dad jokes’ that are corny but not offensive, and were not degrading to the solemnity” of court proceedings.
Some of the jokes referenced in the allegations “were somewhat racy and, upon reflection, were inappropriate,” Farmer’s lawyers acknowledged.
However, Farmer “took full responsibility and apologized for those remarks” during a hearing before the investigative panel “and he does so again today,” his lawyers said in a court document filed last week.
Farmer “has taken these lessons to heart and has refrained from making such jokes” since the complaint was filed with the circuit’s chief judge, the document said.
The probe into Farmer began in October, and Farmer appeared before the panel for a hearing in December. The panel notified Farmer on March 6 about a second investigation and ordered him to appear for a hearing on March 28.
Farmer “provided no response whatsoever, written or otherwise, to the second notice of investigation, save his email on the morning of the hearings claiming that he had intended to appear,” the suspension recommendation said.
Farmer’s decision “to not appear as ordered in the Order to Show Cause (hearing) simply brings his lack of responsiveness into high relief,” the recommendation said.
The investigative panel said four factors must be considered when recommending that a judge be suspended.
“Under the right conditions, a single one of these factors might carry enough weight to warrant a recommendation of suspension: Here, the respondent (Farmer) touches on all of them,” Williams wrote.
Farmer spent three decades as a trial lawyer and reported his financial worth as $4.37 million as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to state records.
The judge “expressed regret, lapse in judgment, as well as shame and embarrassment” for his conduct, his lawyers wrote in a response to the charges.
In addition, Farmer “has shown the type of judicial temperament, demeanor and professionalism” after a transfer to the foreclosure division from the criminal division following last year’s complaint, his lawyers added.
Farmer’s attorneys also argued that some of the remarks or comments included in the charges against him were “taken out of context” or “involve facts, circumstances and/or history that is not accurately or completely reflected” in the allegations.
Two of the judges violated the rules about campaigning for office, and a third admits he sometimes cracks what he calls “bad jokes” that others found offensive.
