With Fla. Supreme Court’s lack of diversity, lawmakers seek reforms
TALLAHASSEE — With the Florida Supreme Court on the brink of lacking a black justice for the first time in 36 years, Senate and House Democrats want to revamp the process for nominating judges.
Sen. Perry Thurston, DFort Lauderdale, and Rep. Al Jacquet, D-Lantana, filed legislation (SB 138 and HB 93) this week that would reduce the governor’s influence over the judicial nomination process.
Thurston and other critics of the current process say Gov. Rick Scott used his appointment power to populate the commissions with “like-minded” members who have advanced conservative judges, while ignoring racial diversity in the court system.
The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission last month advanced a list of 11 nominees for three upcoming vacancies on the state’s highest court but did not include any black nominees.
Among the three justices who are retiring on Jan. 8 is Justice Peggy Quince, the only black justice.
A recent brief filed in a Supreme Court case showed that Scott has not appointed any AfricanAmerican judges to state appellate courts since he took office in 2011.
He has made 32 appellate appointments during that time.
Under current law, the governor names five members to each of the 26 judicial nominating commissions, which forward nominees to the governor for appointment to trial courts, appellate courts and the state Supreme Court.
An additional four members recommended by The Florida Bar are seated on each commission subject to approval by the governor.
“Gov. Scott has already had a deplorable record on nominating diverse candidates leaving the Florida Supreme Court without a for Florida’s appellate division,” Thurston said in a statement.
“Now, he wants us to believe
that out of the many highly qualified African-
American attorneys and justices in this state, not one is suitable for nomination to the Supreme Court. This is political gerrymandering at its worst.”
Under the bills filed by Thurston and Jacquet, the governor would only appoint three members to each nine-member nominating commission. Three other members would be appointed by The Florida Bar.
And then the six members of each panel would select three more members, who would not be lawyers.
It is similar to the system that was in place before 2001, when then-Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through the current appointment system.
The bills will be considered in the 2019 legislative session, which begins in March.
Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis will pick the new Supreme Court justices to replace Quince, Barbara Pariente and R. Fred Lewis, who are leaving the court because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.