Broward Circuit reassigns Gary Farmer for making lewd comments from the bench. (Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics, September 27, 2024)

Former Florida State Senator GARY MICHAEL FARMER, JR., our outrageous orotund ousted disgraced former Florida State Senate Democratic Leader, was perhaps most noted, during his shortened Florida State Senate career, as a louche loudmouth libidinous lout, dating lobbyists. Now an incumbent elected Broward Circuit Court Judge, GARY FARMER has apparently not improved. Not one little bit. In fact, GARY FARMER shows his vulgarity continues on the bench.  In the words of the witty fictional White House staffer character "Toby Ziegler," from Aaron Sorkin's classic television show The West Wing, "With friends like him, who needs anemones?"

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/304965-farmer-discloses-relationship-lobbyist/

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2019/09/19/sen-farmer-says-there-is-no-conflict-of-interest-over-his-relationship-with-lobbyist/

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2019/09/13/advice-to-lawmakers-if-youre-going-to-have-an-affair-dont-have-it-with-a-lobbyist-editorial/

https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2022/11/17/meet-the-new-judge-after-election-win-florida-sen-gary-farmer-jr-rises-to-bench/?slreturn=2024092990615

 https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/04/farmer-out-as-minority-leader-with-only.htm

https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2021/04/gary-michael-farmer-jr-removed-as.html

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/551754-gary-farmer-in-runoff-election-for-circuit-judge/

From Florida Politics:

Broward Circuit reassigns Gary Farmer for making lewd comments from the bench

In one day, Farmer told a defendant to wear condoms, recited gay wordplay from an old comedy sketch and stopped just short of dropped an f-bomb.

Broward Circuit Judge Gary Farmer recently spoke a little too loosely from the bench. Several vulgar comments he made in one day earned him a reassignment this week from the court’s criminal division to its civil court.

As first reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Farmer — a former Senate Democratic Leader — shared a trifecta of thoughts unbefitting a Judge while ruling over his courtroom last month.

On Thursday, court administrators confirmed it was Farmer’s comments that prompted the change and ordered that he swap seats with Judge Marina Garcia Wood, who until then oversaw foreclosure cases.

On Aug. 15, Farmer told one defendant to wear a condom while on probation, recited gay wordplay from an old comedy sketch and nearly dropped an f-bomb while reprimanding another defendant.

According to the Sentinel, Farmer told a grand theft auto suspect who is expecting three children, each from a different mother, “You are shooting all over the place. … I’m going to order you to wear a condom at all times.”

He then told the man he was appointing him a new defense lawyer from the Public Defender’s Office, but warned the suspect, “Don’t get her pregnant.”

Later that day, he was joking with another lawyer who referenced Marlon Wayans, a star from the popular 1990s “In Living Color” comedy series. Farmer quoted one sketch from the show featuring a pair of flamboyantly gay men talking about football.

“Two snaps up and a sweater,” he said. “He likes it when the Oilers play the Packers. He used to be a tight end and now he’s a wide receiver.”

Another time the same day, Farmer grew impatient with how long it was taking to remove a hostile defendant from the courtroom.

“What the f—,” he said, before stopping short of saying the rest.

It’s not the first time Farmer’s comments got him in hot water.

Farmer won his seat on the bench in 2022 after serving for six years in the Senate. He became Senate Democratic Leader in November 2020, but served in the role for just five months before party members booted him from the position in a vote of no confidence. Lauren Book has served in the role since.

Two and a half years earlier, he drew criticism for “obnoxious” comments he made about Book, whom he said was ill-suited for the leader post because she had two young children.

In a letter to Senate Democrats, former Delray Beach Democratic Sen. Kevin Rader blasted what he characterized as Farmer’s “sexist and antiquated comments” about Book.

Farmer later apologized, explaining that his comments were “in no way meant to be a broad statement on gender, or Senator Book.”

Farmer and Book butted heads again just weeks after Farmer’s ouster, when he insinuated that Book’s support for changes to local gaming fees benefiting Davie, which she represents, was because her father was a longtime lobbyist for the city.

Noting that Davie is in her district, Book attributed Farmer’s criticism to “hurt feelings” over her replacing him as Leader.

Jesse Scheckner

Jesse Scheckner has covered South Florida with a focus on Miami-Dade County since 2012. His work has been recognized by the Hearst Foundation, Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Society of News Editors, Florida MMA Awards and Miami New Times. Email him at Jesse@FloridaPolitics.com and follow him on Twitter @JesseScheckner.

ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: Editorial: DeSantis hides abuse of power behind ‘executive privilege’. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 1, 2022)

Our former Congressman from St. Johns County, RONALD DION DeSANTIS, now Governor, is wrong to assert "executive privilege" never before sought or recognized in Florida. Another very good editorial from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Editorial: DeSantis hides abuse of power behind ‘executive privilege’

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, South Florida Sun Sentinel

November 1, 2022·5 min read

188

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” — Lord Acton, British historian, parliamentarian and philosopher, 1887.

Conservatives used to fondly quote Acton’s timeless warning. Not so much lately. With power shifting their way in a majority of states, they are too busy proving his point.

In Florida, at least four current controversies radiate gross abuses of power by Gov. Ron DeSantis. During an trade of insults last Monday in their one televised debate, challenger Charlie Crist put it succinctly: “He thinks he knows better than anybody.”

DeSantis has abused his power by suspending Hillsborough County’s twice-elected Democratic state attorney, Andrew Warren, who broke no laws; flying migrants at public expense from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard; bullying the Legislature into erasing two Democratic congressional districts, one of which had more than 116,000 Black residents in Leon and Gadsden counties; and staging police raids to arrest nearly 20 people on charges of illegal voting in a media event clearly aimed at Black voter suppression.

The last example concerns 17 people, nearly all Black, simultaneously arrested and handcuffed in early morning raids — mostly in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties — with the Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP) charging them with registering and voting illegally. Police bodycam video obtained by the Tampa Bay Times showed utterly confused people who were told they could vote despite felony records. In some episodes, police appeared sympathetic.

Their treatment contrasted sharply with the respectful handling of residents of The Villages, a nearly all-white, heavily Republican constituency in Central Florida, who were charged on a tipster’s information with knowingly voting twice in 2020. The local prosecutor granted deferred prosecution agreements involving community service and a civics class, after which charges were to be dropped.

DeSantis sent the recent cases to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and to the office of Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox, an employee of Attorney General Ashley Moody, who is also running for re-election. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that Cox had no authority to charge Robert Lee Wood of Opa Locka, who had been issued a voter information card but had not had his voting rights restored.

The OSP jurisdiction is constitutionally limited to crimes occurring in two or more judicial circuits in a “related transaction.” Wood registered only in Miami-Dade. Cox claimed multi-circuit jurisdiction because Wood’s registration had been sent to Tallahassee to be checked out.

Hirsch rightly saw that as a stretch, and cited a passage from Shakespeare: “His arms spread wider than a dragon’s wings.” It was a timely and much-needed rebuke to the abuse of power in Tallahassee.

Wood’s pro bono attorney, Larry Davis of Hollywood, won the first of what ought to be similar rulings in the cases before other judges. Davis said Wood was arrested at 6 a.m., “pulled out in his underwear.”

The dragon of abusive power is not easily tamed. The state should have simply referred the Wood case to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. Instead, it is appealing Hirsch’s dismissal order.

Meanwhile, DeSantis’ lawyers want to persuade a federal judge to exempt him from being questioned under oath as to why he suspended Warren. DeSantis alleged Warren would not enforce Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban or rules prohibiting gender dysphoria treatment for minors, but Warren had not actually taken either step. Trial is set for Nov. 29.

No Florida governor had ever suspended anyone for what they might do.

DeSantis’ lawyers are invoking legal nonsense called the “apex rule,” designed to shield corporate and government executives from answering subpoenas to explain what underlings could. But it’s a travesty in the Warren case because the governor was the only person in government who could suspend Warren. Only DeSantis can explain — or refuse under oath to do so — what political calculations went into it.

Similarly, he’s claiming “executive privilege” against having to submit documents in a state court lawsuit against the congressional districting plan that he forced the Legislature to enact by vetoing one that respected Florida’s Fair Districts constitutional amendments. There again, the governor is the only person who could have done that. No one else can sign a veto message or reveal what influenced him to do it.

“Executive privilege,” the last resort of presidents who fancy themselves unaccountable, has no foundation in the Florida Constitution.

Neither does the apex doctrine, an unprompted gift from the Florida Supreme Court to large corporations. DeSantis successfully invoked that rule to keep his chief of staff and another key aide from testifying about the migrant flights, which a Texas sheriff is investigating as a possible trafficking crime. But the case has yielded a partial victory: Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ordered DeSantis to produce documents sought by the Florida Center for Governmental Accountability pertaining to the costly stunt.

DeSantis’ office has been notoriously slow or unwilling to comply with the public records law, so much of Marsh’s ruling is for the good. But the apex doctrine lends itself too easily to a corrupting abuse of power.

____

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

___

ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: Florida lawyer sues Gov. DeSantis, says he's abusing his power opposing abortion amendment. (Doug Soule, GANNETT/Tallahassee Democrat)

Good action.   

Florida lawyer sues Gov. DeSantis, says he's abusing his power opposing abortion amendment

A Lake Worth attorney is asking for action by the state's highest court, complaining of what he calls the DeSantis administration's "unlawful electioneering."

Douglas Soule

USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

 

A Lake Worth attorney is accusing Florida officials of abusing their offices in opposing the state's abortion rights ballot measure – and is asking the Florida Supreme Court to intervene.

The state's "actions aim to interfere with the people’s right to decide whether or not to approve a citizen-initiated proposal to amend their Constitution, free from undue government interference," wrote attorney Adam Richardson in a Tuesday filing. "Every day (that) Respondents can act unlawfully is another day they abuse state resources and sully the election for Amendment 4. The matter cannot wait."

The officials named in the filing are Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Jason Weida, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration. Their spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The action comes after a week of controversies related to their actions in opposition to Amendment 4, which would ensure abortion access in Florida if it gets at least 60% of the statewide vote.

Richardson mentions a new webpage published by the Agency for Health Care Administration that bashes the amendment, accusing it of "threatening women's safety." The agency paid for a television advertisement that directs Floridians to that webpage.

DeSantis defended the move on Monday, saying AHCA resources were being used to "basically provide people with accurate information, and I think that’s something that’s really important, because quite frankly, a lot of people don’t usually get that in the normal blood stream."

Also mentioned in Richardson's filing is how, as first reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, the Governor’s Faith and Community Initiative reached out to religious groups last week to advertise a call with state Attorney General Ashley Moody titled, "Your Legal Rights & Amendment 4’s Ramifications."

t comes as DeSantis' team has begun turning to religious groups to help rouse opposition against the amendment.

Joining Moody on that Thursday morning call will be Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Christian ministry that has also fought against gay marriage. Moody herself has been an opponent of the amendment since before the Florida Supreme Court OK'd it to appear on the 2024 general election ballot.

"Since the Court approved ballot placement, (state officials) have waged a campaign to interfere with the election," wrote Richardson, who has publicly criticized DeSantis.

Another controversy, but one not mentioned in the filing: State election officials sent police to the homes of some citizens who signed the petition to put the measure on the ballot to make sure their signatures were legitimate. The Florida Department of State defended that, saying it "uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions."

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This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.

ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: Ron DeSantis and the arrogance of power | Editorial (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 9, 2024)

Good editorial with catch title, albeit not original.  Kudos to the late Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) for his book, The Arrogance of Power, about U.S. foreign policy.  From South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Ron DeSantis and the arrogance of power | Editorial

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking on the second day of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By SUN SENTINEL EDITORIAL BOARD | Sun Sentinel

UPDATED: September 9, 2024 at 5:45 p.m.

It’s premature to say whether Ron DeSantis will be remembered as Florida’s worst governor, although that does seem his intention.

It’s not too soon, however, to acknowledge that he has abused his power more than any of his predecessors. People are wise to him, too.

No other governor ever weaponized a state agency to fight a ballot initiative. That’s what DeSantis has done with the Agency for Health Care Administration, whose website features a blow-by-blow attack on Amendment 4, the abortion rights amendment.

Not only that, it isn’t true. It falsely claims that current Florida law protects women, and that the initiative “threatens women’s safety.” The use of a taxpayer-funded agency in a political campaign is illegal.

Harassing voters at home

No other governor ever sent his election police to interrogate registered voters as to whether they signed petitions for a cause he opposes — an outrageous act of intimidation. Several voters in Lee County answered a knock on their door and it was an armed, uniformed police officer. The issue again was Amendment 4.

As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, the agents said they were looking into possible election fraud. There was no explanation for why those voters — who verified that they had signed the petitions — were singled out.

The Lee County elections office said it had received only one request from Tallahassee for only one voter’s signed petition.

No other governor ever launched an eleventh-hour campaign to disparage a ballot question, as DeSantis is doing in reviewing petitions collected by specified paid solicitors. Election supervisors in Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Orange counties confirmed the order from DeSantis’ Department of State.

Suspicious timing

Regardless of whether some solicitors may have faked some names they signed, which is always possible and should be prosecuted, the timing is suspicious. Election supervisors are required to compare voters’ signatures with those on file. They verified more than enough signatures — 997,035 to be precise. The deadline to challenge the signatures passed months ago.

The Department of State said it has “uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions.” That doesn’t answer the question: Why now? Amendment 4 made the ballot a year ago.

No other governor has ever tried to dictate to other elected officials that they should help him defeat a ballot question. DeSantis did, with a jaw-dropping speech to a Republican fundraising dinner at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood on Saturday.

Bullying his fellow Republicans, he called out six by name who spoke out against Amendment 4 but haven’t contributed money to his campaign against it.

That old dog whistle

Once again, DeSantis invoked a familiar Republican antisemitic dog whistle, the name of financier and liberal Jewish donor George Soros.

It’s “untenable,” he said, “to just sit here and let George Soros run amendments in our state and not be willing to stand up and say no, not on our watch. That’s the least you can do as Republicans.”

No Soros contributions are among the $51.4 million from thousands of donors reported by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the organization behind Amendment 4. If DeSantis has any evidence that Soros contributed indirectly, he hasn’t shown it, and if Soros did — so what?

DeSantis is entitled like any other citizen to voice his opinions on ballot propositions like Amendment 4. So are Republicans who support it, despite his attempts to intimidate them.

But it’s scandalously wrong to use state resources and taxpayers’ money for such purposes.

Slap him down

Decades ago, Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew had plenty to say and do about amendments he supported for a corporate income tax and ethics reform and against an initiative to legalize casino gambling, but he never co-opted agencies or badmouthed other officials who disagreed with him.

In a practical sense, there are Republican voters whom DeSantis offends. Recent news coverage focused on a group of mostly Republican women who met at Bradenton to support Amendment 4. They recognize that the right of women to control their own bodies ought not to be a partisan issue.

These latest examples of DeSantis’ arrogance closely follow his attempt to fast-track the bulldozing of nine state parks for golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts, the dismissal of a state employee who blew the whistle on the scheme, and the deliberate leaking of the whistleblower’s personnel file — without any request for it.

DeSantis has two more years left to abuse his power. But on Nov. 5, voters can decisively slap down his heavy hand.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

Originally Published: September 9, 2024 at 5:15 p.m.