On Saturday, August 2, 2025, the Sun Sentinel reported that suspended Broward Judge Gary Farmer has officially submitted his resignation letter following months of suspension without pay due to inappropriate remarks made while on the bench. This resignation was confirmed by Chief Administrative Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips.

Judge Farmer’s resignation letter was directed to Judge Phillips, although it is unclear if it has also been delivered to Governor Ron DeSantis, as required by protocol. Attempts to contact Farmer and his attorney on Friday evening were unsuccessful.

Farmer’s suspension stemmed from comments he made during a felony criminal docket on August 15, 2024. During this proceeding, he made several remarks to a defendant who was expecting three children from three different mothers. Farmer’s comments included, “Ok, you’ve been busy. You were just shooting all over the place! That’s good, do you know their names? First and last? Romantic, are you?” He later added that a condition of the defendant’s pre-trial release would be to “wear a condom at all times. For your own good, Ok?! Probation is going to check. No, I’m kidding. I’m kidding.”

Additionally, Farmer made a remark to the defendant about his new attorney, a married woman, saying, “Don’t get her pregnant.” On the same day, he also repeated gay stereotypes from the 1990s television show “In Living Color.” These comments were cited among multiple instances of inappropriate behavior observed by the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC).

Following these incidents, Farmer was reassigned from the criminal court to the civil court bench last September. In April, the JQC initiated formal charges against him and recommended his immediate suspension from duty.

In response to the charges, Farmer characterized his comments as “G-rated ‘Dad jokes’” intended to lighten the atmosphere in a courtroom setting. However, he admitted that his remarks regarding the condom were “somewhat racy and, upon reflection, were inappropriate.” Farmer has argued that the charges did not show that Broward residents were harmed by any illegal or immoral actions, urging the Florida Supreme Court to dismiss the suspension recommendation.

Gary Farmer was elected to the Broward bench in the 2022 general election after serving six years in the Florida Senate, where he held the position of minority leader before being removed by his Democratic colleagues.

 

 

Source: Sun Sentinel