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55 New Judges to Be Elected, Not Appointed The State Supreme
Court Has Decided That 55 New Judges, By Gary Fineout TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court on Friday shot down a lawsuit that would have blocked the election of 55 new judges across the state. The ruling means that dozens of judicial candidates, including those vying for six new judgeships in Broward County and four in Miami-Dade County, can qualify for the ballot next week. Justices ruled 4-2, but did not fully explain their reasons. That alarmed dissenting Justice Raoul Cantero who said there was a ''very strong argument'' that a new law which called for the election of the new judges violates the Florida constitution. Cantero said he was worried that the court decided to rule Friday because of fears that a delay would disrupt elections. Candidates for state offices and the new judgeships must qualify for office between Monday and Friday next week. ''I would prefer not to rush our ruling on the merits of a close constitutional question virtually certain to arise again in the future,'' Cantero wrote. Cantero and Justice Kenneth Bell, both of whom were appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, dissented from Friday's ruling. Bell, however, said he still would have dismissed the lawsuit. Four justices, including Chief Justice Fred Lewis, supported the ruling. Justice Harry Lee Anstead did not participate. Generally, judges are elected in Florida. The governor fills newly created positions and vacancies resulting from mid-term resignations or deaths. Appointed judges are reelected. In 2005, lawmakers approved the creation of 55 new judgeships, all of whom were appointed by Bush. Legislators decided that this year's new judges should be elected. Bush did not veto the law, but argued it was unconstitutional. That argument was echoed by the Judicial Nominating Commission in Miami-Dade County in a lawsuit the group filed directly with the state's highest court this month. The lawsuit contended that Florida's constitution gives the governor power to appoint a judge anytime there is a ''vacancy'' -- regardless of the reason for the vacancy. Marcos Jimenez, a former U.S. attorney who represented the JNC in the lawsuit, said the ruling ``doesn't respect the governor's powers.'' Senate President Tom Lee, however, said he was pleased the court had acted quickly so that judicial candidates would not be in limbo and everyone could move ahead with preparations for the Sept. 5 primary election. ''I believed the Legislature had the prerogative to make this decision, '' he said.
Justice Kennedy: ORLANDO, Fla. - Lawyers should speak up and explain the judicial process when judges come under attack, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy told members of the Florida Bar on Friday. "When judges are attacked unfairly, it's proper for the bar over the course of time, in a professional and elegant way, to explain to the public the meaning of the rule of the law," Kennedy told several hundred lawyers attending the Florida Bar's annual meeting. In the past year, the judiciary has come under attack from U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who openly criticized the federal courts when they refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Delay pointed to Kennedy as an example of Republican members of the Supreme Court who were activist and isolated. Other conservative critics have accused the courts of housing "activist judges," and in Chicago, the husband and mother of a federal judge were found murdered in her home. There's nothing wrong with criticizing cases, Kennedy said. "We want a debate on what the law does and what it means," he added. "Judges aren't immune from criticism and neither are their decisions." What is worrisome is when the criticism isn't just focused on a decision but at the judiciary, and increasingly, individual judges, he said. Lawyers can act as an intermediary between the decisions made by judges and the larger society by explaining, he added. "When the judiciary is under attack, the bar disengaged, the public indifferent and critics scornful, then this idea of judicial independence might be under a real threat," Kennedy said. Some critics believe that the idea of judicial independence gives judges the ability to rule however they want to, but the opposite is true, Kennedy said. "Judicial independence is so that a judge can do what he has to do or what she must do," Kennedy said. Kennedy described the current era as one when around the world constitutions are being written in places, such as Iraq, and the idea of judicial independence is being implemented in countries where it was previously absent. "It would be a tragedy if the American people ignored or neglected the idea of judicial independence just when the rest of the world is on the threshold of gaining it themselves," Kennedy said. Judicial Independece Project Here for the Long Haul By Gary Blankenship When the Committee on
Judicial Independence had its first in-person meeting last month,
something quickly became evident. |
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A Feast
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