Amateur Comedian Judge Faces Ethics Complaints Over Groan-Inducing ‘Dad Jokes’

There are only two responses to a truly phenomenal dad joke: frustration and a knee-slapping gigglefest. Don’t believe me? Listen to this Dad Joke compilation with your office door open and see what happens. That said, there is a time and a place for humor — the courtroom is not one of them. A lawyer recently got in trouble for watermarking his briefs with a purple-suited anthropomorphized dragon. The judge took him to task for making light of the seriousness a courtroom should be approached with. Things may have fared better for the Dragon Lawyers if they submitted the complaint to Judge Gary M. Farmer Jr. He seems a little more partial to some levity in the courtroom. For some, that’s the problem. ABA Journal has coverage:

Judge Gary M. Farmer Jr. of Broward County, Florida, said in a May 6 response to ethics charges his remarks were intended “to lighten tension, reduce stress for criminal defendants and show a sense of humanity.”

The response acknowledged, however, that some comments “were somewhat racy and, upon reflection, were inappropriate.” Farmer said he takes full responsibility for the remarks, and he apologizes for them. He “has taken these lessons to heart” and has refrained from jokes since the filing of the ethics complaint, according to the response.

Judge Gary framed his comments as G-rated dad jokes. References to parentage were definitely made, but he may want to brush up on how movies get rated. Read the following joke he made to a defendant with three kids on the way and determine for yourself if it would look out of place in Toy Story or Finding Nemo:

“You’ve been busy,” Farmer said. “You were just shooting all over the place. … I’m going to order that you wear a condom at all times. It’s for your own good. Probation’s gonna check. No, I’m kidding.”

This joke, along with many of the other ones mentioned in the complaint, are so bad that I wish someone would just tell the guy to focus on his day job. Thankfully, one attorney had the heart to do it on our behalf in this exchange:

[Judge Farmer] asked a lawyer whether he was a fan of The Flintstones. “They don’t like it in Dubai, though. I don’t know, but the people of Abu Dhabi do,” Farmer said. The attorney replied, “Don’t give up your day job.”

I’m sure it stings for a series of ethics complaints to be how you discovered that you aren’t nearly as funny as you thought you were, but the message appears long overdue. If you’re going to be a comic, have enough heart to do it at a venue where your audience doesn’t have to worry about laughing hard enough to get a favorable verdict. As for everyone else, as much as I would generally recommend going the extra mile and reading the rest of the jokes in question. I know not every joke can be a winner, but with the number he told, you’d hope that at least one of them would be! You’d be better off buying a small container of Laffy Taffys and committing the jokes to memory.

‘There Was In Fact A Defendant Named Jaques Strapp,’ Says Judge Defending His Corny ‘Dad Jokes’ [ABA Journal]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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