Anna Nicole Smith Judge Larry Seidlin Resigns

The over-the-top, made-for-TV Florida judge who presided over the Anna Nicole Smith body custody hearing has resigned.

In a letter dated June 13, 2007, and addressed to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Broward County Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin says it is "time for me to devote more of my daily life to my own young family and to pursue the many opportunities that have been offered to me outside the legal system and I have disregarded until now.

Click here to read the resignation letter (PDF)

"While those opportunities are varied, they all share in common a further commitment to helping my fellow citizens through roles in the educational system, the media and nonprofit organizations," he continued.

During the Smith hearing in February, celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com published a report that Seidlin was angling for his own television program.

And, it certainly seemed that way many times during the hearing. Seidlin frequently threw out comedic one-liners; sent the courtroom into bursts of laughter by calling lawyers nicknames like "Texas" and "California"; badgered attorneys with repeated interruptions about bad grammar and questionable strategies; interrogated witnesses himself; and even made broad, bold declarations such as "I am the trier of fact" and "We are here on a search for the truth."

At one point, "Judge Larry" even invoked the War on Terror with a bizarre request that the courtroom stop and pay homage to American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Seidlin is a former Bronx, N.Y., taxi-cab driver.

FOXNews.com's Catherine-Donaldson Evans contributed to this report.