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Justices Back Ruling Against Lawyer

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the finding of a judicial referee in a disciplinary case against local lawyer John Renke II.

The referee ruled in November that Renke gave illegal contributions to his son's 2002 judicial campaign and recommended a 60-day suspension and public reprimand.

The Supreme Court upheld the recommendation and ordered Renke to pay $7,980 to The Florida Bar, which brought the claims against him.

Renke's son, John Renke III, was kicked off the bench in June 2006 after the Judicial Qualifications Commission found he misled voters in his campaign literature and illegally accepted $95,800 in contributions from his father. The contribution was the same one at issue in Renke II's disciplinary hearings.

The elder Renke, 63, argued that the money was paid to his son as part of a legal settlement the two had won when they practiced law together. The court disagreed, however, finding that Renke II paid his son in 2002 but the settlement wasn't finalized until 2003.

The court also found that the elder Renke knew the money he was paying his son was going to fund his campaign.

Todd Leskanic

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