Cannon lashes out at GOP critics and Florida Bar in merit retention fight

Outgoing House Speaker Dean Cannon, a vigorous critic of the Florida Supreme Court , chastised critics of the Republican Party of Florida, which has come out in opposition to the three justices up for merit retention.  

“It is political speech,’’ Cannon said Wednesday. “The very people who are opposing the merit retention process now, asked for this system back in the 70s and 80s and they who consider themselves the defenders of free speech and political participation should be ashamed of themselves for criticizing people for or against justices,’’ he said.  

Last week, the Republican Party of Florida took the unprecedented step of entering into the debate on a merit retention vote for Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barabara Pariente and Peggy Quince, who are each on the November ballot. State law requires that the justices come before voters every six years to determine whether they continue to demonstrate the qualities needed to render fair and impartial rulings. 

The decision of the party to get involved has come under fire from critics on both sides of the aisle, as well as Justice Lewis who warned that the judiciary is under assault because of partisan politics.   

Cannon, a lawyer who is in the process of moving his law firm from Winter Park to Tallahassee, has been a critic of the high court since the court struck down three constitutional amendments written by the Legislature in 2010. He said it is “ludicrous” for people to argue that it is inappropriate for a political party to enter into this debate.

He said that “merit retention is one of the only accountability checks on the judicial branch left. I think it was wise that we stopped having elected justices back in the 70s or 80s, or whenever it was, but frankly merit retention is intended to be an accountability check on justices. As such, the very reformers that are criticizing the participation in the process -- they created it.” 

Justice Lewis speaks out, says independence of 'entire branch of government' is under threat

Justice R. Fred Lewis told the Hillsoborough County Bar Association on Monday that the Republican Party of Florida's entry Friday into the judicial retention campaign shifted what had been a whisper campaign against the three justices into a frontal assault on the judiciary.

"This is the most stressful time I've ever experienced in my life,'' he said, three days after the party announced it will oppose him and two other justices because of their "activist" and liberal views. "I'm embarrassed to have to plead for our court system. If we fail, we fail the people of Florida. There is an entire branch of government to protect and defend. We cannot sacrifice fairness and impartiality and the court system to political whims."

Lewis, who is under fire for voting with the majority on a controversial 2003 opinion in which he delivered the dissent, chastised the party for getting its facts wrong when it released its statement last week.

Gaetz and Weatherford say they weren't consulted on on RPOF court decision

The decision by the Republican Party of Florida's executive committee last week to oppose the retention of three Florida Supreme Court justices in November was done without the approval of Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford, the Republican leaders said Monday.

"I was not consulted about that decision and there is no reason why they would consult me,'' said Gaetz, R-Niceville, who is designated to be the next president of the Senate in November. "I'm focused on Senate races and we're locked in some tight ones."

Gaetz would not say whether he personally supported or opposed the justices but he told the Herald/Times that the millions raised to elect Republicans to his chamber will not be used to back any attempt to oust Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince.

Judge declines to rule on prison health care dispute

The state's circuit court will not rule on whether legislators broke the law in their push for what would have been the country's most sweeping overhaul of the prison healthcare system, leaving the year-long dispute unresolved.

Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll declined to give an opinion Monday on whether lawmakers violated the constitution by using fine-print budget language--called proviso-- to issue a massive outsourcing of inmate health care.

Lawmakers hoped the change would cut prison health care costs by 7 percent. But two employee unions sued the state for tucking such a massive change into the budget rather than vetting it through the Legislature's long-standing committee structure.

Carroll's order says any court opinion would be moot because the 2011 budget, which contains the language on prison health privatization, expired Saturday. There is no provision in the 2012 budget that calls for privatization of inmate health services.

Plaintiffs also asked the court to forbid the Department of Corrections from future outsourcing of prison health services, but Carroll refused the request.

"The law is clear in Florida that the circuit court cannot give advisory opinions," the ruling states.

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FL Supreme Court hears foreclosure appeal

TALLAHASSEE — In a case that could impact thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, Florida's Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on whether a judge can revive a dropped case when the plaintiff is suspected of fraud.

The justices took up Pino vs. The Bank of New York, a Palm Beach County case in which drywall hanger Roman Pino accused his bank of fraudulently backdating documents used against him in foreclosure proceedings.

The bank dropped the case, corrected the paperwork, and re-filed five months later. The parties reached a settlement, but justices still wanted to rule on whether a plaintiff's right to drop a case trumps the court's obligation to penalize for fraud.

Justices fire back in controversy over their campaign paperwork

Florida's three Supreme Court justices, who are under fire for using court staff to assist them in their last-minute completion of their paperwork needed to meet the deadline for their merit retention campaigns, shot back on Thursday with a letter from a well-regarded constitutional law expert.

Lawyer Barry Richard, who has presided before the court on numerous cases and represented George W. Bush in the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision, sided with the justices that they did nothing wrong.

"It has been common practice in Florida for many years for deputies and employees in the officers of supervisors of elections and court clerks to notarize documents filed in such offices when requested by members of the public,'' Richard wrote in in a legal opinion sought by the judges' campaign counsel. "...Such notarization is offered as a public service" and "does not indicate that the notary endorses the candidacy of the person filing the documents'' Download Opinion_letter_to_DStengle[1]

Tick tock of almost missed merit retention paperwork reveals 'comedy of errors'

It was six minutes after 10 a.m. on Friday morning and, Dan Stengle recalls, "my life passed before my eyes."

The legal counsel for the merit retention campaigns of Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince was told by the justices' campaign treasurer that the three justices hadn't completed all the paperwork needed to run in their merit retention election on the November ballot.

The justices were just minutes into a two-hour redistricting hearing -- the only issue since Bush v. Gore on which the court has scheduled a two-hour hearing.

Stengle, whose law office is five blocks from the Supreme Court building, called the courthouse, then ran over to it.

Judge won't block closure of Hillsborough prison

Unless the Legislature moves to save it, Hillsborough Correctional Institution could close as soon as March 30.

Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis refused to issue a temporary injunction blocking the Riverview prison's closure, saying the inmate plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit had not proven the Deparment of Correction's plan to close the facility violated state law.

Under the proposal, Hillsborough Correctional inmates will be transferred to dormitories currently under construction at Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County complex. The successful faith- and character-based program will also transfer with them.

Lewis ruled on the case Friday afternoon after listening to roughly three hours of testimony over two days.

Though he refused to halt Hillsborough Correctional's closing, the lasuit itself is still pending. Plaintiff's attorney Dean LeBoeuf said supporters will continue to monitor the transition plan to ensure that the state keeps its promise to provide similar programming and better living conditions for former Hillsborough Correctional inmates.

Miami court revives constitutionality of state illegal drug law

A state appeals court on Wednesday rejected a federal judge’s controversial ruling that Florida’s drug statute is unconstitutional. Story here.

Miami-Dade’s Third District Court of Appeal said it did not agree with a ruling by U.S. Judge Mary Scriven, of Osceola County, which said Florida’s drug law was “draconian” because prosecutors don’t have to prove that the accused actually knew of the illicit nature of the drugs they were carrying.

Scriven’s ruling, in Shelton v. Department of Corrections, has sparked thousands of requests statewide from defendants seeking their freedom.

At the heart of the issue is Florida’s Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law. In May 2002, the Legislature changed the state’s existing law, removing the burden of authorities to prove that the accused had “knowledge” of the illicit nature of the drugs, although the defendants could raise that defense at trial.

Hawkes, under fire as judge of 'Taj Mahal, says he's resigning

1st District Court Judge Paul M. Hawkes is resigning from the court to avoid an ethics trial before the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Hawkes was charged in May with conduct unbecoming a judge, destroying public records and intimidating state employees involved in the construction of the court's new $50 million courthouse which many have dubbed a "Taj Mahal.''

The new courthouse has sparked outrage throughout the state as court employees have been laid off and budget cuts have forced other judges to postpone needed repairs to leaking roofs and malfunctioning air conditioners.