Hillsborough County voted Jared Smith off the bench this year after his controversial behavior gained national headlines. Now, Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed him to the Sixth District Court of Appeal.

DeSantis made the announcement yesterday evening in a news release, stating that Smith will start his new position at the newly-created, Lakeland-based appeals court on Jan. 1.

The press release also referred to Smith as hailing from Lakeland but it didn’t explain what his connection is to the area.

In November, Smith’s bid for a judgeship on the appeals court was challenged by a lawmaker who said he shouldn’t be appointed because he lived in neighboring Hillsborough County. But the challenge was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled that Smith only needed to be a resident of the district at the time of appointment, and not beforehand.

Smith has not yet responded to a request for comment on when he moved to Lakeland.

Smith last served as a Hillsborough County judge on the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, where he was appointed by DeSantis in 2019. In August, he was defeated in an election by challenger Nancy Jacobs, who will replace him next year.

Smith’s loss in Hillsborough was rare, because incumbent judges usually retain their seats in elections. But the judge made local and national headlines throughout the year for troubling rulings and questionable campaign behavior.

In January, Smith cited a 17-year-old’s grades and maturity in his ruling that denied the teen an abortion. A panel of judges on an appeals court found that he had abused his judicial discretion, and overruled him.

But that wasn’t all that derailed Smith’s re-election last summer.

During the campaign, a video showed Smith’s wife, with the judge standing next to her in a church full of people, saying that Jacobs, who is Jewish, “needs Jesus.”

An attack ad aimed at Jacobs that called her a “woke” judge also came under scrutiny. Legal experts said the ad may have violated judicial canon by making non-objective claims about Jacobs. The company that produced the ad denied that Smith took part in it, but campaign records show that he paid them $1,000 for an advertisement just a week before the attack ad launched.

Smith also made a public apology over a false claim he made about Creative Loafing’s reporting.

The controversy surrounding Smith eventually led to several high profile leaders who previously endorsed him to rescind their support. However, many stayed in Smith’s camp, including former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board also “recommended” Smith during his judicial race, while at the same time admitting that the abortion decision was problematic.

After losing his election, Smith made a bid for the Sixth District Court of Appeals, which was created in June. Now, thanks to DeSantis, Smith and eight other judges will hear appeals cases from several counties in Central Florida.