Judge Anthony C. Ritenour, the highly regarded Highlands County judge who handled misdemeanor court cases as well as presided over felony murder trials, retired July 1.
In a May 6 letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ritenour thanked the community for its support of his 20-year reign on the bench in Courtroom 1B.
“After much prayer and discussions with family, I have decided to retire as a state employee and return to the private sector,” Ritenour wrote. “I was initially elected in March 2006, and it has been both a distinct honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of this circuit over the past two decades.”
Appointed to the bench by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006, Ritenour has been continuously re-elected without opposition. Ritenour, who graduated from Sebring High School in 1986, earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1994.
He primarily handled misdemeanor offenses, including DUIs, domestic violence, petit theft, simple drug possession, and violation of probation (VOP) cases. He also stepped in to assist with felony cases when required.
Known for focusing on rehabilitation, the judge sought to help defendants better themselves so they didn’t lose their jobs or vehicles over minor crimes. A sometimes beekeeper who once referred to himself as “just a country boy who wears a black robe,” Ritenour sought to help those on the margin — with a promise that he’d return them to jail if they violated his trust or didn’t back their words with action.
“If I see their story is believable, or they’ve already done time in jail, I don’t want them to lose their car, or lose their job,” he said. “If they show up, and they’re already high at court and they haven’t had a job in three to four years, they are not showing any indication that they’re trying to change their lives.”
Ritenour would ask defendants about their lives, where they work, about their families, perhaps to learn about motives that led people to commit offenses. Or to learn what hurdles they must overcome to get their driver license back. He tried to help them there, too, often reducing fines to lessen financial burdens. But not always.
“Some of the time, I ask them, do you have proof that you had a job? This one will say, ‘I will lose everything.’ If I see they really have a job, I will let them out on pretrial, but they must show proof they actually had that job, and then I decide later whether to put them back in jail.”
It’s a sensitivity, he said, that comes from growing up simply.
“If it’s a non-violent case, and it doesn’t look like they’re still living a horrible lifestyle and want to change, I help them out if it’s just financial,” Ritenour said. “I remember a time period when me and my brothers shared one bedroom and hardly had a pot to pee in.”
However, the judge didn’t suffer games in his courtroom.
Leonard Wilson, 34, raised the judge’s ire when he came before Ritenour for driving without a license in his possession in September 2023.
Wilson told Ritenour that he was a “Sovereign Citizen,” and not under his court’s jurisdiction. He told the judge that he was answerable only to the group’s particular interpretations of the common law. The group also believes they are not subject to any government statutes or proceedings, unless they consent to them.
Wilson had filed several hand-written motions using language and theories of the Sovereign Movement, which is spread throughout the nation’s jails and prisons. For instance, he alleged “fraud on the magistrate of this court;” claimed “trespass on my property” by the officers who pulled him over and gave him the ticket; and demanded damages for emotional distress and punitive damages. He demanded a “half ton of gold or silver” from law enforcement officials.
Wilson continued to speak over Ritenour as the judge tried to explain that the court did have jurisdiction over Wilson. After the defendant repeatedly objected to Ritenour’s role as judge, Ritenour sentenced Wilson to 179 days in the county jail on a contempt charge.
When the 179 days were over and Wilson stood before Ritenour, the two had a discussion of a different tone.
“I kept warning you to stop interrupting me; you didn’t stop saying the laws didn’t apply to you,” Ritenour said kindly. “You can have a position that you and I may disagree on, but when I warn you and warn you over and over again, you can’t keep saying that.”
Ritenour asked Wilson if he had anything to say.
“Sorry, sir,” Wilson said.
Ritenour is a member of the law and order Ritenour family that includes Lt. Christopher Ritenour, a former administrator in the Sheriff’s Detention Bureau who retired last year after 36 years of service; Detective Steve Ritenour, a supervisor at the Highlands County Special Victim’s Unit; and Cindy Ritenour, an administrative aide for the sheriff’s Law Enforcement Bureau.
“I would like to especially thank those who have continued to support me all these years,” the judge wrote DeSantis. “I can say that I have carried out my duties with pride, sincerity, and to the best of my abilities.”
