A judge in Florida was suspended for telling “inappropriate, undignified, or discourteous” jokes to help “lighten the tension” in the courtroom.
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has indefinitely suspended Broward Circuit Judge Gary Farmer Jr for making jokes during his hearings, according to Law & Crime.
Many of the comments reportedly occurred during felony criminal hearings last August. During one case, a defendant had reportedly impregnated three women all within nine months of each other.
“OK, you’ve been busy,” Farmer said during the session. “You were just shooting all over the place! That’s good, do you know their names? First and last? Romantic are you? Don’t tell Susie about Jane, don’t tell Jane about Mary. God bless you, man. One’s enough.”
Later he joked about ordering the man to wear a condom.
“I’m going to order that you wear a condom at all times. For your own good. OK? Probation is going to check. No, I’m kidding. I’m kidding,” Farmer said.
When the defendant’s appointed defender turned out to be a woman, the judge told the man “don’t get her pregnant.”
During another case, a defendant was named Georgia, and Farmer began singing a song about “sweet Georgia” and making jokes about peaches.
“You’re supposed to say ‘peachy.’ How you doin’, Georgia? Peachy!” Farmer said.
Though it’s unclear why, Farmer also reportedly “quoted extensively” from a sketch performed by Marlon Wayans on “In Living Color,” according to the commission.
Farmer knew his jokes weren’t landing, admitting at one point during a trial that he was telling “exceptionally, exceptionally bad jokes.”
But he appears to have persisted.
During a bond hearing, a defense attorney representing a suspect facing first-degree kidnapping charges joked with the judge about the nature of the kidnapping.
“I gotta tell you judge, in the history of kidnappings, this would be the first time someone gets kidnapped and taken to a strip club,” the defense attorney said.
Farmer replied: “I was about to say, I think there’s a long list of husbands who have claimed exactly that in the past. We’ve all been taken against our will.”
The judge responded to the allegations that his jokes were “inappropriate” and “undignified” by insisting they were meant to be helpful, not harmful.
“These jokes were said to lighten tension, reduce stress for criminal defendants, and show a sense of humanity,” Farmer said. “They generally are G-rated ‘Dad jokes’ that are corny but not offensive, and were not degrading to the solemnity of the proceedings.”
Farmer previously served in the Florida State Legislature as a Democrat. It’s unclear when or if he’ll return to the bench.
