Justices reject Scott’s request to take Pariente off case
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Gov. Rick Scott to remove Justice Barbara Pariente from a case that could determine the shape of the state’s highest court for decades.
In a one-sentence order, the court denied Scott’s motion to have Pariente, part of a liberal-leaning bloc that has repeatedly thwarted the Republican governor, disqualified from the case. Pariente is a West Palm Beach lawyer who served on Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal before Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1997.
Scott’s lawyers had accused Pariente of being biased against the governor in the case, which centers on whether Scott or his successor has the power to appoint three new justices before he leaves office in January 2019.
Attorneys for Scott, who contends he has the appointment power, filed a motion Nov. 20 arguing that Pariente should be disqualified because of comments she made that were caught on a “hot mic” after oral arguments in the case. The Scott administration alleges the comments indicated a bias against the governor.
But, accusing Scott of trying to “fan the flames of false controversy,” lawyers for the League of Women Voters and Common Cause filed a 12-page response Tuesday saying the motion to disqualify Pariente should be rejected. The two groups filed the underlying case about the appointment power in June.
The attempt to remove Pariente from the case stems from comments she made after oral arguments Nov. 1 and other remarks she made during a merit-retention campaign in 2012.
After the conclusion of the oral arguments in the case, Pariente was seen pointing to a piece of paper and speaking to Chief Justice Jorge Labarga. The exchange was captured on a video by The Florida Channel, which broadcasts court arguments.
Labarga reacted to the document by saying the name “Panuccio,” and Pariente could be heard saying the word “crazy,” although the entirety of their exchange could not be heard.
Labarga then said, “Izzy Reyes is on there. He’ll listen to me.” Pariente appeared to say, “Look whose pick they’re getting ...”
During the conversation, the justices referred to a paper brought to the bench by Pariente. A public records request by Scott’s lawyers found that the document was a list of the governor’s appointees to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, along with the dates when each commissioner’s term is set to expire. Jesse Panuccio and Israel “Izzy” Reyes are members of the commission.
“In the present case, disqualification is likewise required because the actions and comments by Justice Pariente
Answer: would place a reasonably prudent person in fear of not receiving a fair and impartial hearing,” Scott’s lawyers argued in the 17-page motion seeking Pariente’s removal.
But in the response filed Tuesday, attorneys for the League of Women Voters and Common Cause wrote that the Nov. 1 comments “do not in any way commit or appear to commit Justice Pariente with respect to any party, issue, or controversy in this proceeding.”
“Respondent (Scott) has decided not to presume good faith by a leader of a co-equal branch of government and instead presumes the worst based on nothing but partial quotes devoid of context and amplified by baseless speculation,” the groups argued.
Relying on a 1980 decision in a case known as “In re Estate of Carlton,” lawyers for the groups said Pariente alone had discretion about whether to leave the case, as disqualification laws apply to trial judges — not Supreme Court justices and other appellate judges.