The delay may mean a better choice, e.g., desegregating the currently all-white Florida Supreme Court, who which the Big Law Firm dominated Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission recommended only one African-American candidate out of all the applicants in the State of Florida.
POLITICS NEWS
Swamped with coronavirus response, DeSantis punts on Florida Supreme Court picks
By GRAY ROHRER
ORLANDO SENTINEL |
MAR 20, 2020 | 3:52 PM
Gov. Ron DeSantis was facing a looming deadline to fill two vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court but is extending the deadline to May 1. He told reporters Thursday, Mar. 19, 2020 he’s been consumed by the coronavirus response and hasn’t had enough time to thoroughly vet the nominees.(DAVID SANTIAGO/Miami Herald/TNS)
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis was facing a Monday deadline to fill two vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court but is extending the process to May 1.
He told reporters Thursday he’s been consumed by the coronavirus response and hasn’t had enough time to thoroughly vet the nominees.
“We will not be making the selections by Monday,” he said. “I just don’t see it as being practical given all the things we’re dealing with as a state.”
State law gives DeSantis 60 days to make a selection after the Judicial Nominating Commission issues its slate of nominees, which it did on Jan. 23. But DeSantis said he’s using his power under the state of emergency he declared due to the global pandemic to extend the deadline.
DeSantis said he’s been able to interview the nine nominees but hasn’t had time to read all of their rulings.
“I don’t think my time is very well spent – right now the court is functioning fine – for me to be taking my eye off the ball of the stuff that everyone is so concerned about to be reading some of these opinions,” DeSantis said.
The two vacancies occurred in December, when DeSantis’ previous two picks for the court, Justices Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck, were confirmed to the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeal based in Atlanta by the U.S. Senate.
Since then, the court has been operating with five members, the minimum needed to reach a quorum and issue decisions. It has continued to issue rulings even with much of life shut down as officials look to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but oral arguments scheduled during April have been postponed.
JNC chairman Daniel Nordby, a former general counsel to DeSantis’ predecessor, Rick Scott, said he doesn’t fault DeSantis for extending the deadline.
“The highest responsibility of a governor during a state of emergency is to take actions to keep people safe,” Nordby stated in an email, adding that he was speaking for himself, not on behalf of the JNC. “The slate of nominees isn’t affected by the expiration of the 60 days. I continue to have confidence in Governor DeSantis as he decides how best to fill these two vacancies from this talented list of nominees.”
The JNC is a nine-member board selected by the governor, with five members selected directly and four with at the suggestion of the Florida Bar, although the governor has the final say. It can deliver the governor a minimum of three and a maximum of six nominees for each vacancy.
It delivered a slate of nine nominees to DeSantis on Jan. 23 – three for one vacancy which must come from the 3rd District Court of Appeal that covers Miami-Dade and Monroe counties; six for the other vacancy, which is an at-large seat on the bench.
John Couriel, a Miami lawyer; Norma Lindsey, a 3rd District Court of Appeal judge; and Eliot Pedrosa, a Miami lawyer, are the nominees for the seat that must come from Miami-Dade and Monroe.
Renatha Francis, a Palm Beach County circuit judge; Jonathan Gerber; chief judge of the 4th District Court of Appeal; Jamie Grosshans, a 5th District Court of Appeal judge; Timothy Osterhaus, a 1st District Court of Appeal judge; Lori Rowe, another 1st District Court of Appeal judge and Meredith Sasso, another 5th District Court of Appeal judge, are the nominees for the at-large seat.
Francis is the only African-American among the nominees, and black lawmakers have been urging DeSantis to appoint an African-American to the bench ever since he left the court without a black justice when he made his first three Supreme Court appointments shortly after taking office.
But Francis couldn’t legally accept the appointment until Sept. 24. Florida law requires justices to have been a member of the Florida Bar for at least 10 years, and she didn’t become a member until Sept. 24, 2010, having graduated from the Florida Coastal School of Law earlier that year.
Meanwhile, the court system is making its own adjustments under the coronavirus emergency.Chief Justice Charles Canady issued an administrative order Tuesday telling circuit and county courts to halt most in-person proceedings through Mar. 27. There was an exception made for “essential court proceedings,” which includes arraignments, bail hearings for prisoners, juvenile delinquency detention hearings, risk protection order hearings, hearings for the appointment of a temporary guardian, Baker Act hearings and hearings needed to protect constitutional rights.
Courts were also ordered to continue proceedings related to the state of emergency, including enforcement of travel limitations and the closure of public or private buildings.
On Thursday the court indicated more directives from Canady could be forthcoming.
“Protecting the public in every way possible is our overriding goal here,” Canady stated in a release. “We will keep our justice system operating, postpone matters that can wait until later, and observe social distancing requirements adopted by public health authorities.”
grohrer@orlandosentinel.com or (850) 222-5564
Gray is the Sentinel’s Tallahassee Bureau reporter, covering the Legislature and the rest of state government at the Capitol. He grew up in Brevard County and is a proud alumnus of the University of Central Florida. He worked for papers in Jacksonville and the Fort Myers area before covering state government for online publications in Tallahassee.
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