In a high-profile ethics case now labeled the Abortion Comments Judge Scandal, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has recommended the removal of Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Nancy L. Jacobs, citing serious violations of judicial conduct during her 2022 election campaign.
A six-member panel of the Commission issued a 55-page report detailing Judge Jacobs’ use of inflammatory rhetoric—including abortion-related campaign messaging and personal attacks on her opponent, former Judge Jared Smith. While Jacobs acknowledged her missteps to investigators, the panel said she failed to show remorse during her official testimony, contributing to the decision to recommend her removal.
The scandal stems from Jacobs’ campaign strategy targeting Smith’s controversial ruling denying a 17-year-old an abortion—a decision later reversed. Jacobs’ campaign used this to challenge Smith’s qualifications and judicial impartiality. The panel found she crossed ethical lines when her campaign page declared: “Send Smith back to private practice where his harsh antiabortion views can do less harm.”
Further ethical violations were cited in her private accusations of antisemitism, her criticism of Smith’s religious affiliations, and her public questioning of his belief in the separation of church and state. Although Jacobs claimed First Amendment protection for her comments, the Commission ruled that she knowingly misrepresented facts and failed to maintain the dignity and impartiality expected of a judicial candidate.
“Judge Jacobs’ statements during her campaign and her conduct afterward eroded the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judiciary,” the panel stated, adding that her lack of remorse before the panel was “particularly troubling.”
The Commission’s recommendation is not final and will be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Jacobs is represented by attorneys Ryan D. Barack and Michelle Erin Nadeau of Kwall Barack Nadeau PLLC. The Commission is represented by Henry M. Coxe III of Bedell Dittmar DeVault Pillans & Coxe PA.
