In the latest in a long string of incidents exposing, at least to MAGA Republicans, the rotten nature of much of the judiciary, a judge in Florida has been caught illegally aiding the Democrats by making about 900 illegal donations to them while a judge, a clear violation of the state’s code of judicial conduct that signifies the rise of a politicized judiciary.
For reference, the judge at issue is Judge Dianna Tennis. According to state investigators who are looking into her conduct and the similar conduct of other judges, Judge Tennis made about 900 donations to various Democratic candidates and Democrat-aligned groups, with the overall collection of donations totaling a whopping $29,000.
In fact, her behavior was so wide-reaching and severe that, according to Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, though there were other judges who illegally made donations, Judge Tennis stood out in the Sunshine State as “far and away the most prolific offender” in both the number of donations and the total amount given.
The matter is a major problem for Judge Tennis and perhaps the judiciary generally, as judges are expected to do everything they can to remain politically neutral and maintain the public’s trust in the judiciary. This generally means not making political donations to candidates or clearly political causes, yet Judge Tennis did so anyway.
In fact, Judge Tennis’s donations included contributions not only to Democratic congressional candidates and President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, but also to pro-abortion Political Action Committees (PACs), raising serious doubts over whether she could impartially judge a case having to do with abortion.
Pointing out the ethical breach made by Judge Tennis in a post on X, the Libs of TikTok X account said, “🚨 EXPOSED: Florida Judge Diana Tennis made 900+ donations totaling $29K to Democrat candidates and orgs since 2016 in violation of Canons 1, 2A, and 7A (1)(e), which prohibit judges from making contributions to political organizations or candidates. She needs to RESIGN”. Echoing the thoughts of many, one commenter wrote, “Resign? She should be arrested.”
Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission, in a filing, said, “Judge Tennis admitted to her misconduct and has cooperated with the Commission in all respects during this inquiry. She has expressed deep regret that her conduct could have eroded the public’s perception of the integrity of the judiciary and judicial elections.”
"*" indicates required fields
Judge Tennis, for her part, reportedly tried to explain away the illegal contributions by claiming that she thought the prohibition on donating to political candidates only applied to “state candidates/races and that federal candidates or races weren’t covered,” as she was a state-level rather than federal judge.
Unfortunately for Republicans who want to see some serious punishment of a rogue judge come from this, it appears that Judge Tennis will face minor repercussions at most, not expulsion from the judiciary. As Newsweek noted in its report on her misdeeds: “Given Tennis’ admission of wrongdoing and cooperation, and a lack of any prior disciplinary history, the commission decided to recommend that she receive a public reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court.“