Category Archives: Uncategorized

Editorial: State must fix funding for courts Jun. 29, 2011  | News Press The fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants funding for court systems across Florida is intolerable. A stable, adequate source of revenue for the system must be found, even if it means a special session of the Legislature. The courts provide one of the most basic, essential government services, mandated by the Florida Constitution. The orderly, timely adjudication of criminal and civil cases is necessary for society to function … Continue reading →

Courts face funding crisis News Press | June 28, 2011 Judge: System could be broke by fall This week marks the start of what will be a tenuous budget year in court systems across the state, with revenue sources shriveling and a heavy reliance on loans just to keep dockets moving. The courts are entering the new fiscal year July 1 with no money and the pledge of an additional $54 million loan from the … Continue reading →

Four past, current justices given independence awards By Stacey Singer, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 14, 2011 PALM BEACH – At their annual state association dinner on Saturday, criminal defense lawyers spent their evening defending not a person, but an idea: the concept of separation of powers in Florida government. West Palm Beach attorney Richard Lubin presented judicial independence awards to two current and two former Florida Supreme Court justices with West Palm Beach ties. He … Continue reading →

Our Opinion: Governor needs to veto court study Tallahassee Democrat, Published: May 24, 2011 Gov. Rick Scott has made efforts to avoid what he considers politics-as-usual and simply march to his own drummer to the tune of corporate America. Against his inclinations, however, the governor finds himself drawn into political back-scratching predicaments where, to get what he wants, he has to do what powerful legislators want. Case in point is a ridiculously large — because … Continue reading →

‘Taj Mahal’ courthouse judge must go St.Petersburg Times Editorial, Thursday, May 19, 2011 The arrogance, bullying and duplicity of 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul M. Hawkes has been well documented. Now new charges from Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission have uncovered even more evidence that Hawkes, a former political operative who orchestrated the building of the “Taj Mahal” courthouse in Tallahassee, is not fit to sit on the bench. From ordering the destruction of … Continue reading →

Rating Florida’s Senate: Leaders and letdowns The Orlando Sentinel  May 15, 2011 The extremist political agenda in Tallahassee this session sometimes proved too hot even for Central Florida’s Republican senators to handle. Yet too often they, along with the region’s Democratic senator, were willing accomplices.Which forces us, in a year that saw lawmakers blitz programs for education, elections and the environment, to judge their performance on a curve. Otherwise, none would make the grade.

State Sen. Jack Latvala leveraged his vote to slow down conservative march By Michael C. Bender, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau May 11, 2011 Jack Latvala builds ever-shifting coalitions to temper some fellow Republicans’ efforts in the Legislature. TALLAHASSEE – State Sen. Jack Latvala failed to pass 29 of the 38 bills he sponsored this year, but he might have been the session’s most effective lawmaker. “Jack was the MVP,” said Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate. Latvala, 58, … Continue reading →

Republican court overhaul fell short of original goal By Adolfo Pesquera, Daily Business Review | May 11, 2011 So sweeping was the breadth of changes the Legislature intended to inflict on the Florida judiciary, it helps to summarize the session by listing what won’t happen. The state Supreme Court won’t split in two, and it won’t be packed with three new Republican-picked justices. The Florida Bar won’t be removed from the selection of Judicial Nominating … Continue reading →

Attack on judicial independence Herald-Tribune | May 10, 2011 Resistance was not futile. Because a small band of state senators — including Nancy Detert, a Sarasota County Republican — resisted pressure from their party’s leadership, a proposal to undermine judicial independence and further politicize the appointment of judges in Florida was defeated. These conservative contrarians, who held fast to their belief in the separation of powers, deserve credit from all Floridians who hold the same … Continue reading →

Cannon’s $400,000 folly If at first you don’t succeed, finance a study Tallahassee Democrat | May 10, 2011 House Speaker Dean Cannon’s petulant ambitions to reform and rein in the state Supreme Court do nothing to enhance his reputation, or Florida’s. On Sunday, the New York Times marveled at Mr. Cannon’s “brazenly partisan court-packing plan” and “specious arguments” about problems to be solved — which were debunked. Mr. Cannon’s plan to split the court into … Continue reading →

Florida Senate Approves Controversial Overhaul of state Supreme Court The Wall Street Journal, Law Blog | May 4, 2011 The Florida Supreme Court (pictured) has been the subject of close legislative scrutiny in recent weeks, as lawmakers in the Sunshine State have been contemplating splitting the court into civil and criminal divisions — a proposal that critics have derided as a partisan effort to allow Republicans to appoint like-minded jurists.

The House proposes, the Senate disposes By Howard Troxler, The St.Petersburg Times | May 4, 2011 Some people say Florida should switch to a one-chamber Legislature, like Nebraska. The theory seems to be the fewer politicians, the better. Not me, Jack. Can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve muttered to myself: “Thank God for the Senate.” (I say this about the House once in a while, but not as often.)

Cannon’s Supreme Court changes get budget love By Kathleen Haughney May 4, 2011 10:46 AM Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel House Speaker Dean Cannon may not have gotten a total win on his Supreme Court reform plan after the Senate refused to go along with his plan as a whole, but he isn’t completely letting the issue die. Tucked inside the budget is $400,000 for a study to review and make recommendations on how the Supreme … Continue reading →

Florida Puts Overhaul of Courts to the Voters By Don Van Natta Jr., The New York Times| May 3, 2011 MIAMI — The Florida Senate has decided to put major changes in the state court system before voters next year but only after rejecting the most contentious proposal, which would have split the Supreme Court in two. The debate over the most sweeping judicial overhaul package in the country ended late Monday in a partial … Continue reading →