An Orange County circuit judge could face a public reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court after an investigation that found she had made more than 900 contributions to political candidates and organizations since 2016, according to documents posted Tuesday on the Supreme Court website.
Judge Diana Tennis made the contributions, totaling $29,154, to candidates such as former President Joe Biden and former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and organizations such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Emily’s List.
The documents were filed Tuesday by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates judicial conduct and said the contributions violated a judicial canon.
In a document that included findings and the recommendation of a reprimand, the commission said Tennis admitted misconduct and cooperated in the investigation.
The document said Tennis indicated she thought a prohibition on contributions ”only applied to state candidates/races and that federal candidates or races weren’t covered.” Also, she said she did not realize some of the contributions were recurring, the document said.
The commission said it is aware of other judges who have made personal contributions to candidates and political organizations and is “reviewing those matters on a case-by-case basis.”
But it also said Tennis is “far 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.”
The Supreme Court has ultimate authority to decide discipline for judges.
