{"id":6228,"date":"2026-07-02T14:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6228"},"modified":"2026-07-02T14:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:05:20","slug":"florida-supreme-court-wants-orange-judge-who-made-political-donations-to-pay-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6228","title":{"rendered":"Florida Supreme Court wants Orange judge who made political donations to pay fine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Florida Supreme Court has rejected a negotiated disciplinary agreement for an Orange County circuit judge who admitted to wrongly making more than 900 political contributions while serving on the bench.<\/p>\n

Read more Florida shark attack on teen inspires start of national alert system<\/a><\/p>\n

The court wants the judge to pay a fine, which is a harsher punishment than the state\u2019s judicial watchdog agency had recommended.<\/p>\n

The court issued its order last week, saying it disapproved of an agreement between Circuit Judge Diana Tennis and the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission that would\u2019ve resulted in a public reprimand with no financial penalty.<\/p>\n

Tennis admitted in a hearing in May 2025 to making hundreds of donations to political candidates and organizations since 2016. The Florida Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits sitting judges from making any such contributions.<\/p>\n

Her contributions \u2014 totaling approximately $29,000 \u2014 were made to candidates such as former President Joe Biden and former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Democratic political action committees, including Emily\u2019s List and ACTBLUE. Tennis identified herself as a judge in connection with these contributions.<\/p>\n

The rule prohibiting such contributions exists because Florida elects its judges on nonpartisan ballots, and a judge who writes checks to political campaigns has, at minimum, the appearance of a partisan stake in who holds power, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.<\/p>\n

During the May hearing, Tennis said she thought the prohibition only applied to state candidates and races, and that federal candidates or races weren\u2019t covered.<\/p>\n

Read more Ask a real estate pro: As a buyer, do I have to pay my real estate agent 3 percent?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Judicial Qualifications Commission in its September recommendation said Tennis was \u201cfar and away the most prolific offender both in terms of total dollars and number of contributions. Thus, the commission believes her misconduct is deserving of a public reprimand,\u201d according to court documents.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hugh Brown,\u00a0commission\u2019s counsel for the case, declined via email to detail its reasoning for recommending a public reprimand with no financial penalty, saying he could not comment on an open case.<\/p>\n

The supreme court said in its order that in addition to the public reprimand, it would impose a fine on Tennis, though it did not specify an amount.<\/p>\n

Tennis has remained on the bench in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which covers Orange and Osceola counties, since the investigation began, currently assigned as an administrative judge to domestic relations and family court. Tennis has not been previously disciplined as a lawyer since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 1992.<\/p>\n

The parties have 30 days, or until July 25, to submit a revised agreement reflecting the additional sanction. If no agreement is reached, the case returns to commission for a full evidentiary hearing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tennis\u2019 attorney, Warren Lindsey, declined via email to say whether the judge intends to accept the court\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n

Read more Miss Manners: The bride wants to know how to properly shame the non-gift-givers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Florida Supreme Court rejected a disciplinary agreement for Orange County Circuit Judge Diana Tennis, who admitted to making more than 900 prohibited political contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida Supreme Court wants Orange judge who made political donations to pay fine - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6228\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida Supreme Court wants Orange judge who made political donations to pay fine - 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