Ethics Dunce, Unethical Judge, and Possible Zombie: Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Judge Diana Tennis

The zombie speculation is because I’m sure I’ve seen that expression on “The Walking Dead” or “World War Z.”

The Florida Supreme Court wants to fine Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Judge Diana M. Tennis (she’s in Orlando) after she admitted making more than 900 donations to left-leaning political causes, we learn from Law.com.

The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission discovered last month that Judge Tennis gave nearly $30,000 in more than 900 separate donations to progressive candidates and those aligned with the Democratic Party.

Florida judicial canons explicitly bar judges from making political contributions:

Canon 7

A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political Activity

A judge…shall not:

…make a contribution to a political organization or candidate.

Tennis told the commission that she mistakenly thought that the rule only applied to donations to candidates for state office, not federal ones. That means that she can’t read or understand statutes in plain language. Nothing in that rule above limits the restriction to state political activity. This judge is either dishonest or incompetent. Why would the Florida Supreme Court allow such a hack to continue sitting on the bench at all? She’s partisan, conflicted and untrustworthy.

The more I examine the issue, the more I realize that there are an unacceptable number of incompetent and unethical judges rotting our justice system, indeed an unacceptable percentage of bad judges that I fear equals a critical mass. Tennis is far from the worst, and she has no business judging anything more challenging than the state fair apple pie competition.

Then there is that zombie thing…

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