Jacksonville Circuit Judge Mark Hulsey III, embroiled in an investigation into allegations of making racist and sexist remarks, resigned Monday.
 
Chief Judge Mark Mahon confirmed that Hulsey, who could not be reached for comment, had emailed his resignation to Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Hulsey was facing potential impeachment by the Florida Legislature and Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Hulsey, who narrowly won re-election in August, is accused of saying black people should “go back to Africa” and female staff attorneys are “like cheerleaders who talk during the national anthem.”
The Judicial Qualifications Commission also cited Hulsey in the misuse of his judicial assistant and staff attorneys responsible for helping all the judges in the Jacksonville-based 4th Judicial Circuit. The complaints say he used staff attorneys to prepare scripts for routine judicial tasks and required one to regularly do his work for him.
The commission panel said Hulsey’s “indifference to your judicial duties” created problems for other staff and that he “exploited” his judicial assistant by having her pay personal bills, write letters and phone people on his behalf.
Hulsey denied doing anything inappropriate and said he never made any racist or sexist statements. He did acknowlege having his judicial assistant handle personal tasks for him and admitted that he listed people as supporting his 2016 re-election campaign whom he didn’t get permission in writing as required under Florida law.
But Hulsey resigned a day before the The House Public Integrity & Ethics Committee was scheduled to open an investigation into his behavior that could have led to his impeachment. A judge hasn’t been impeached in Florida since the 1970s.
Hulsey said his assistant never complained about the tasks, and said the endorsement list was an oversight.
A hearing panel led by West Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx was scheduled to listen to the evidence against Hulsey and make a finding of whether he did anything wrong. That hearing is scheduled to occur the week of June 12, but officials with the Judicial Qualifications Commission said it would likely be dismissed now that Hulsey is no longer a judge.
Had the hearing gone forward, the panel’s recommendations would have gone to the Florida Supreme Court, which would have had the final say in whether Hulsey faced any punishment.
Hulsey was a veteran family law attorney in private practice before he was elected judge in 2010, defeating Assistant State Attorney Sam Garrison. He was re-elected narrowly last year after the charges against him had become public, barely defeating attorney Gerald Wilkerson. He was helped by a number of prominent black lawyers who spoke up on his behalf, expressing doubt that the charges are true.
He previously lost an election in 2008 to Circuit Judge Adrian G. Soud.
Hulsey served in the criminal division from the time he took the bench in 2011 until the charges against him became public last year. On the day the charges were filed, Mahon reassigned Hulsey to the probate division, where he remained until Monday’s resignation.
The reassignment created problems for the judiciary, with Mahon acknowledging that he couldn’t put a permanent judge into an open spot in the juvenile division partly because of Hulsey’s situation.
Hulsey is the son of Mark Hulsey Jr., a prominent local lawyer who died in 2011.
Scott will now appoint a replacement for Hulsey. The process of selecting a successor is expected to take several months.
Larry Hannan: (904) 359-4470