Next governor to appoint justices
Court rules Scott exceeded his authority, raising the stakes of the governor’s race
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott will not get to appoint three justices to the Florida Supreme Court on his final day in office, the high court ruled Monday, a decision that raises the stakes on the governor’s race with the winner possibly deciding the ideological balance of the court for years to come.
The terse, unsigned order from the court ruled that Scott exceeded his authority last month when he ordered the Judicial Nominating Commission to begin seeking applications and interviewing candidates and to submit nominees by Nov. 10.
“As the JNC is an independent body, it is not bound by Governor Scott’s deadlines,” the order stated.
Under the state constitution, justices must retire by the time they reach 70 but can serve out a six-year term if they turn 70 more than halfway through the term. That means justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince must leave the bench by midnight on Jan. 7, the same moment Scott’s second term ends.
Those three justices make up the bulk of the 4-3 liberal majority on the court. If Republican Ron DeSantis wins the governor’s race, he’ll be able to flip the court to a solid conservative majority. If Democrat Andrew Gillum wins, he could possibly preserve the liberal majority.
Scott has previously contended he has the authority to name their replacements on his last day in office, but in September he said he’d make the appointments in consultation with the winner of the governor’s race.
The order is a victory for the League of Women Voters, a progressive electionrights group that sued Scott, claiming he didn’t have the power to push the JNC into action.
“Today’s decision makes November’s election even more critical for the future of our state,” DeSantis spokesman Stephen Lawson said in an email. “If Andrew Gillum is elected, out-ofstate, radical groups would pressure him to appoint activist judges who would legislate from the bench to fit their own ideology. The consequences of this would be felt for generations, and it would be dangerous for every person in our state.”
But even if Gillum beats DeSantis, it could still be difficult for him to place liberal justices on the court. Although Scott
can’t name the replacements, he has loaded up the JNC with appointees who subscribe to his conservative judicial philosophy.
The JNC has five members appointed by the governor and four by the Florida Bar. Scott’s appointees’ terms don’t expire until well into the new governor’s term, so they’ll still be able to restrict the nominees the new governor can select.
For each vacancy, the JNC must submit at least three and as many as six nominees to the governor, who chooses the nominees from those lists.
"I am pleased the Florida Supreme Court has brought closure to this important issue finding, as we have consistently stated, that the next Governor of Florida will appoint the next three Supreme Court justices,” Gillum said in a released statement. “It is a duty I take extremely seriously and, as governor, one of my top priorities will be to restore integrity to the judicial nominating process."
Monday’s order left unanswered the question of when the JNC can certify its nominees to the governor. It set oral arguments for Nov. 8 – two days after the election – over how to decide that question.
Jason Unger, chairman of the JNC and a Scott appointee, said the order wouldn’t affect its schedule for interviewing candidates. Dozens of judges have applied for the seats, and the JNC is set to interview candidates starting the first week of November.
Depending on how the justices rule after the oral arguments, however, it could affect when the JNC can certify its choices.
Republican Party of Florida chairman Blaise Ingoglia sent an email to supporters driving home the importance of Monday’s order to the election.
“Andrew Gillum would appoint radical, activist justices who would legislate from the bench and work to eliminate school choice, erode pro-life principles and impose big-government ideology on our state,” Ingoglia wrote. “Ron DeSantis is an attorney, Iraq veteran and former Navy JAG officer who knows the importance of appointing strong constitutionalists to the bench.”