TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After a disciplinary panel last month recommended she be removed from the bench, Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Nancy Jacobs will resign May 31, according to documents released Friday by the Florida Supreme Court.
Jacobs submitted her resignation to Gov. Ron DeSantis after a lengthy, contentious probe into issues such as her conduct during a 2022 election campaign.
A hearing panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission on April 30 issued a recommendation that said it concluded “removal is the only appropriate discipline warranted by the circumstances.”
The commission investigates judicial conduct and makes recommendations to the Supreme Court, which has ultimate disciplinary authority.
The probe, in part, involved what the hearing panel described as “a series of inappropriate and/or disparaging remarks” made about Jacobs’ 2022 election opponent, then-Circuit Judge Jared Smith. Jacobs defeated Smith, who was then appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the 6th District Court of Appeal.
Jacobs battled the allegations of improper conduct, including pointing to First Amendment rights.
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