Litigation

FL Editorial: Enough Special Interest Cash, Already

By Peter Hardin

Florida legislators ought to steer clear of a proposal by the state’s Republican House speaker that would make it easier to dump judges from the bench, an Orlando Sentinel editorial says.

Among other reasons, the editorial explains, is the pressure that would follow for judges to seek special interest cash in their campaigns:

“Governors would surely have many more vacancies to fill, thanks to the speaker’s proposal requiring justices and appeals judges to win not a majority but 60 percent of voters’ approval to keep their jobs. That would set the bar higher for judges than other candidates, and since when is a majority not good enough for public office?

“It also would add to pressure on judges to scrounge for campaign cash from special interests. We already have plenty of that, thanks.”

The editorial was cool to Dean Cannon’s proposal to expand the state Supreme Court from seven to 10 members and split it into two panels, one handling civil cases and one handling criminal matters. It added, “Why create a new judicial body but not adequately fund the ones we already have?”

The editorial supported a proposal to make public the investigations of any judicial misconduct. To learn more about the proposed changes, see Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 11, 2011 (boomark / email).