Judge Gary Farmer won’t be hearing cases as his own gets underway.

The Florida Supreme Court has suspended Farmer — without pay — as he faces judicial misconduct charges stemming from a series of documented actions and remarks he made from the Broward Circuit bench.

The high court approved the recommendation of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission’s (JQC) Investigative Panel and formally suspended Farmer, pending resolution of disciplinary proceedings.

The effective date is May 19.

The court instructed the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit’s Court Administrator to submit the necessary paperwork for processing the suspension. It also urged the JQC to expedite the remaining proceedings “in a manner consistent with the Commission’s rules and the procedural rights of the respondent.”

The suspension marks the latest in a series of events that unfolded over the past year involving Farmer, a Democrat and former Senate Democratic Leader, and his atypical approach to presiding over judicial proceedings.

The JQC launched an inquiry into Farmer’s conduct in late 2024 following a series of complaints that resulted in his reassignment from the Broward Circuit’s criminal division to its civil court. That investigation culminated in formal charges that he had engaged in inappropriate behavior and made lewd comments while presiding over cases.

The panel concluded that Farmer was “unfit to serve” due to behavior that included repeatedly making inappropriate and sexual comments from the bench and engaging in other conduct that diminished public confidence in the judiciary.

Among the incidents cited were remarks directed at attorneys and courtroom observers that the JQC described as “discriminatory, offensive, sexually charged, and demeaning.”

That included references to ejaculate, suggesting a defendant would impregnate his defense lawyer, reciting homoerotic quotes from an “In Living Color” sketch and several instances where the JQC said he unduly exceeded his judicial role.

Farmer, who was elected to the bench in 2022, has pushed back against the allegations. In a legal filing last week, he requested a trial over the matter and asked to remain on the bench during the proceedings. His legal team maintained that the charges are exaggerated and his comments were mischaracterized or taken out of context.

The Supreme Court opted instead for immediate suspension.

Farmer’s background in Florida politics and law has made this case particularly high-profile. As a legislator, he served as Senate Democratic Leader and was known for his sharp rhetoric and partisan clashes. His transition to the judiciary was viewed as a significant career pivot, but one now marred by controversy.

Should the JQC’s full panel recommend removal and the Florida Supreme Court concurs, Farmer could be permanently barred from serving as a Judge in the state.

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Artificial intelligence is already changing how society operates in ways most people don’t immediately see. That’s why Rezonance AI founder Padmini Soni says it’s mandatory that ethics drive responsible AI growth.

“AI is no longer a buzzword,” she said. “From our lives, our work, the way we interact with people, everything has changed with AI.”

In a speech to Florida TaxWatch, she said that includes policy guardrails. Speaking to a watchdog policy group, she said AI will provide tremendous policy tools, but that there should also be considerations as governments consider regulatory frameworks.

“Look at the AI policy and strategy, establish the ‘why,’ ‘where’ and ‘how’ of AI adoption,” she said. “Then build the mindset and the muscle for leading an AI project. And finally, design items that are scalable, ethical and effective.”

Soni said she became passionate about AI after her father suffered a fall, and she found ChatGPT a valuable tool in managing her busy schedule as she became a caretaker.

“That’s when something shifted inside me, when I started seeing some little responses,” she said. “And that’s when I started thinking about ChatGPT or AI being more than just a productivity or an automation tool.”

But not everyone realizes how AI has already started to change their lives.

“You have more power at your fingertips than ever before,” she said. But, paraphrasing a famous Spiderman moral, she said great power comes with great responsibility.

Soni said Florida TaxWatch and others in The Process can use AI for direct benefits. She helped California develop a chatbot to inform the public about the Secure and Secure Innovation Frontier bill, using AI to educate about AI regulation. But the technology can also be used to find government efficiency or to run comparisons of bills and policy proposals.

All of that, though, needs to come with restrictions and an awareness that technology needs to be directed to assist humanity and not harm it.

“What keeps me up is having this mass innovation without guardrails,” she said.

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Could modern technology predict or prevent the next major structural collapse in Florida?

A case study presented by RADISE International founder Kumar Allady showed attendees of Florida TaxWatch’s Spring meeting how sensors embedded in concrete could detect and track corrosion of cement.

“Sensor technology and the Internet of Things is revolutionizing concrete structures,” he said.

Ahead of the presentation, Florida TaxWatch Vice President of Research Bob Nave reminded attendees of several recent disasters that drew national attention.

The most notable was the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside in 2021, which killed 98 people. But smaller disasters like the Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse in 2018 also claimed five lives.

Florida TaxWatch in April released an independent study on how the use of microelectronic sensors to continuously monitor structures could alert engineers and public officials immediately to potential hazards with structures.

“This technology acts more like a streaming movie as opposed to one-time or periodic on-site inspections,” the report reads. “This technology can save many millions of dollars in inspection costs and protect many lives, as well as save billions of dollars worth of public infrastructure and property.”

Allady spoke on the topic, and along the way showed how the technology is being used already with several bridge projects in the state of Florida. That includes a massive road project connecting Interstate 395, State Road 386 and Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade County.

But for the most part, most $20,000 cars brought to the market today have more electronic sensors than $1 million towers being constructed.

Allady stressed that condominium associations and developers likely won’t embrace the technology on their own.

“The decision has to come at the policy level, because you’ve got to implement some of these things,” he told Florida Politics. “A lot of the condominium side, we had some of the instrumentation, they don’t want to see the data. They don’t want litigation, part of a legality point of view, and will not listen. The contractors or the engineers or the owners, some people are progressive and they want to see the data, but some people don’t.”

He said sensors can be installed in existing or new construction. The process will be different in either situation. But sensors will glean the most data if they can be installed as part of building foundations.

“Every structure that we are building presently, we are losing an opportunity,” he said.

The Legislature did enact new regulations after the Surfside collapse, but revisited the law this year amid outcry on costs. Allady, though, said policymakers could put in sensor requirements at a measured pace.

“As a starting point you want to do with size threshold buildings, or the high-rise buildings about three stories or four stories,” he said. “Then they can go from there.”

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