Judgeships should be awarded based on merit, not Ron DeSantis’s political whims
A Florida Supreme Court justice once tore an incriminating piece of evidence into 17 pieces and flushed it down a toilet.
That kind of foolishness prompted Gov. Reubin Askew to reform how judges are hired in Florida. He created Judicial Nominating Commissions, which would recommend judges based on merit, not politics and patronage.
A half-century later, Ron DeSantis is continuing Rick Scott’s legacy of eroding the system’s integrity. Political ideology is now the key qualifier for judges.
Since the governor and majority of legislators share that notion, they’re not likely to clean up this mess. It will require a constitutional amendment to restore JNCs to their original setup and purpose.
That means the public needs to take charge, much like it did in 2018 when Amendment 4 restored voting rights to ex-felons. That also means Floridians needs to fully realize the extent of this judicial travesty.
Are you listening, Florida Bar members? “More attorneys need to speak up against this growing trend so that the most qualified, not the most connected individuals, are appointed to these important positions,” said Orlando attorney Bill Ponall.
The latest evidence of that trend came last week when a JNC announced its six nominations to fill the seat vacated by Jamie Grosshans, who was elevated to the Florida Supreme Court. Four of the candidates have unquestionable credentials.
That’s not the case with Judge Keith F. White of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which covers Orange and Osceola counties. He has by far the lowest rating of the circuit’s 22 judges, according to a 2019 survey of defense attorneys and prosecutors.
Then there’s Mary Alice Nardella, an Orlando attorney specializing in trust and estate law. Her application lists two appeals, no criminal law experience and no jury trials since she was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008.
Compare that to Mary Jolley, who handled more than 400 criminal appeals as an attorney and been a circuit court judge for four years. That resume dwarfs Nardella’s, especially when you consider about 60% of cases in the Fifth District Court of Appeal are criminal.
Yet Jolley applied and didn’t even make the list of finalists. The JNC indeed moves in mysterious ways, though the goal is not that hard to figure out.
DeSantis wants young, conservative judges. That’s his prerogative, but there are more important qualifications to consider.
“Political patronage, not experience or merit, seems to currently control the judicial appointment process,” said Ponall, one of the few Florida Bar members who’s publicly criticized the JNC charade.
The process has certainly veered from the original concept. Before 1971, judges were elected or appointed by the governor. The clubby arrangement was ripe for scandal, like when two Supreme Court Justices resigned after being accused of ethical violations.
A third, Joseph Boyd, admitted he accepted a secret draft of a court opinion. He destroyed the evidence in the bathroom but kept his job after a reprimand.
Under Askew’s reforms, JNCs in 20 judicial circuits would interview candidates and recommend a slate of three to six for the governor to choose from.
The JNCs were made up of nine members. Three were appointed by the governor and three by The Florida Bar. Those six then chose three non-lawyers to round out the commission.
It was independent, transparent check on executive branch power.
It was too good to last.
The Legislature changed the system in 2001, giving the governor power to appoint five members. The Florida Bar could appoint the other four, though the governor could reject those nominees.
Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist didn’t exploit the new system. Rick Scott made exploitation a priority, rejecting 33 slates of nominees and stocking JNCs with members who wouldn’t stand in his way. If they did, their JNC days were often numbered.
DeSantis picked up where Scott left off. It’s so bad that Alan Landman, chairman of the 18th Judicial Circuit’s JNC and a big DeSantis supporter, was forced out after he resisted greasing the skids for a DeSantis favorite.
The Supreme Court JNC did the governor’s bidding when it made Renatha Francis a finalist this year despite the fact she hadn’t met time requirements for the job.
Francis is a native of Jamaica, and DeSantis was under pressure to name a minority to the Supreme Court.
Fortunately, that very court followed the law and rejected the ploy. The legal rhubarb further exposed the lack of diversity among JNC nominees.
Ponall said many minority candidates don’t apply for judicial openings because they think the fix is in. That concern prompted Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, to introduce bills that would restore JNCs to their pre-2001 setup.
Those measures failed the past two years. There’s no real hope for a reform bill as long as Republicans run the show in Tallahassee.
Legislators should realize that one day a governor won’t have an “R” by his or her name. Now that Scott and DeSantis have turned JNCs into rubber stamps, a Democratic governor might well do the same.
That’s not how it’s supposed to work, regardless of which party is in charge. Given the seemingly incurable partisanship, the only foreseeable remedy is a constitutional amendment. The sooner, the better.
DeSantis is tearing up a system designed to put the best legal minds in charge of interpreting the state’s laws. That is one concept that should never be flushed down the toilet. Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.