TALLAHASSEE — John T. Jenkins Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens was disbarred following a March order from the Florida Supreme Court.
The discipline was issued after the attorney’s attempts to withdraw from a case evolved into his alleged failure to comply with court orders or pay the resulting sanctions.
According to the Formal Complaint, Jenkins represented a woman in an appellate matter at the end of 2014. In December 2014, the attorney filed a Notice of Withdrawal with the 5th District Court of Appeal. The filing allegedly did not comply with the Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure, and Jenkins was ordered to refile his motion correctly within 10 days.
Jenkins allegedly failed to adhere to the court order, and on Jan. 13, 2015, the attorney was ordered to show cause for why he did not comply. He was again given 10 days to do so, and on Jan. 27, Jenkins was ordered to appear before the court the following month. The attorney did not appear in court Feb. 12, but he response to both the Dec. 16 and Jan. 13 orders five days later, according to court records. The response included reasons for his lack of response and another request to withdraw from the case.
The attorney’s request to withdraw was granted, but his response was deemed insufficient, court records show. As a result, he incurred a $250 sanction. Jenkins filed a response to the sanctions in April 2015, stating that he was improperly served the initial order and that it was “inappropriate” for the court to request his appearance as he would have needed to have driven seven hours to do so. His motion was denied, and the court continued to demand he pay the sanctions, which he had not done at the time of filing.
Jenkins was later disbarred.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Law graduate was admitted to the Florida Bar in May 2003. Since Aug. 1, 2007, Jenkins incurred suspensions in March 2016, August 2016 and January 2017.