Courts

Will Of The People Be Damned, Ron DeSantis Appoints Ousted Judge To Higher Position

Voters rejected this judge, but he's perfect for Ron DeSantis's agenda.

By Kathryn Rubino on December 22, 2022
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Campaigns With Senate Candidate Adam Laxalt In Nevada

(Photo by Ronda Churchill/Getty Images)

Next time a right-winger tries to gaslight you into believing they care about democracy, I want you to remember this story. (Well, also everything about Moore v. Harper.) Because it’s pretty clear the only thing motivating conservatives is amassing enough power to impose their will on the public even — or maybe especially — when the majority of people disagree with them.

Florida judge Jared Smith had his moment in the abortion wars limelight earlier this year when he denied a 17-year-old girl seeking a judicial bypass to parental permission access to abortion care because he said her GPA suggested she was too immature to make the decision on her own. (But apparently that immaturity doesn’t prevent her from becoming a parent, because logic is overrated!)

Fortunately, an appellate court overruled Judge Smith in that case.

Since that brush with notoriety, Smith was voted out of office. And while this questionable decision likely played a role in his ouster, there was also the matter of an antisemitism controversy during his reelection campaign. As per the Tampa Bay Times:

“Smith, an evangelical Christian, became the target of further criticism when a video surfaced of his wife speaking about [challenger Nancy Jacobs] during a campaign appearance in a local church. In the video, Suzette Smith was heard saying that Jacobs, who is Jewish, ‘needs Jesus,’ among other comments.”

But Smith won’t be slinking off in anonymity to lick his wounds. Nope, he’s getting an even more powerful position — Florida governor Ron DeSantis appointed Smith to the state’s 6th District Court of Appeals.

Because it isn’t about democracy or the will of the people or anything as basic as that. It’s about installing culture warriors to boost DeSantis’s agenda as the Florida governor prepares to take the national stage.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].