Wednesday, November 30, 2016
HEAR JEJUNE JOE SAVIAK SPEECH, Ponce de Leon Hall Solarium, 10 AM, December 13th: ASK QUESTIONS, DEMAND ANSWERS, ON HIS UNETHICAL CAMPAIGN TACTICS IN ST. AUGUSTINE
Remember lyon' louche loudmouth loser JOE SAVIAK, a/k/a "JOE SIX PACK," addled brain thug behind the secretive anti-Shaver PAC "gang that couldn't shoot straight?' Well, he's speaking at 10 AM on December 13, 2016 (for a five dollar fee) on "Reinventing Local Government for the 21st Century.” Come ask questions, demand answers and expect truth from arachnid apparatchik JOE SAVIAK, on Tuesday, Dec. 13 in Flagler College’s historic Solarium in Ponce de Leon Hall, 74 King Street, St. Augustine, Florida. Dark money accepted gladly.
Professor to discuss how local government can address 21st century challenges
Flagler College
November 29, 2016 8:39 AM
Joe Saviak
As part of Flagler College’s Community Lecture Series, Dr. Joe Saviak will be speaking on “Reinventing Local Government for the 21st Century,” on Tuesday, Dec. 13 in the college’s historic Solarium in Ponce Hall.
“Flagler College has taken a lead role in aiding local governments in our region in effectively meeting critical challenges,” he said. “Through Flagler’s Public Administration Program, which is offered as a community service, executives and professionals in local government learn how to reorganize the public sector around the realities of the today’s demands. We help these public servants optimize performance for the citizens they serve.”
Saviak teaches in Flagler’s Public Administration Program, working with students who are public sector administrators and professionals serving in 50 different local and state government agencies across the northeast and central Florida regions. Through his work, he has seen how local governments must contend with greatly reduced resources, smaller public sector workforces and limited funding for public services.
In his lecture, which will appeal to any citizen receiving services from local government, Saviak will share the strategies and best practices that serve as the core of the Public Administration Program curriculum. These strategies, he said, have a real impact in our communities.
“There are a number of specific tools we employ—from analytics to contracting to public-private partnerships—to not only generate a high-performance workforce, but to also make local governments more agile, flexible and responsive,” he said. “In short, there’s a revolution occurring worldwide in local government. We’re rethinking, re-engineering and redesigning how government will deliver services. The 21st century is demanding new approaches to ensure government is efficient and effective.”
Twice in his career, Saviak served on senior management teams responsible for significantly improving the performance of agencies with over 1,000 employees and annual budgets in excess of $100 million. Prior to teaching at Flagler, he worked as a senior administrator in local government, and he is often asked to speak to audiences of policymakers and public managers on the strategies for successfully meeting the challenges facing local government. He teaches the principles, strategies and skills of effectively leading and managing change. He recently co-authored a guide for state and local officials on how to utilize contracting and public-private partnerships to best deliver public services and needed infrastructure.
During the 2016-2017 season, Flagler celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Community Lecture Series, which was founded in 2007 to offer the local community an opportunity to explore topics covering arts, religion, politics, culture, history, economics and more with experts on the college faculty. The theme of the series this year is “Challenges at the Crossroads: Finding Solutions to Local Issues.”
The programs take place monthly. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for four lectures. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Ponce Hall Solarium at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are not required. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception.
Call (904) 826-8617 for more information, or visit here.
If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Lynn Francisco at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice.
**This event was previously scheduled for Oct. 11, but due to Hurricane Matthew clean-up efforts had to be rescheduled to Dec. 13. **
Professor to discuss how local government can address 21st century challenges
Flagler College
November 29, 2016 8:39 AM
Joe Saviak
As part of Flagler College’s Community Lecture Series, Dr. Joe Saviak will be speaking on “Reinventing Local Government for the 21st Century,” on Tuesday, Dec. 13 in the college’s historic Solarium in Ponce Hall.
“Flagler College has taken a lead role in aiding local governments in our region in effectively meeting critical challenges,” he said. “Through Flagler’s Public Administration Program, which is offered as a community service, executives and professionals in local government learn how to reorganize the public sector around the realities of the today’s demands. We help these public servants optimize performance for the citizens they serve.”
Saviak teaches in Flagler’s Public Administration Program, working with students who are public sector administrators and professionals serving in 50 different local and state government agencies across the northeast and central Florida regions. Through his work, he has seen how local governments must contend with greatly reduced resources, smaller public sector workforces and limited funding for public services.
In his lecture, which will appeal to any citizen receiving services from local government, Saviak will share the strategies and best practices that serve as the core of the Public Administration Program curriculum. These strategies, he said, have a real impact in our communities.
“There are a number of specific tools we employ—from analytics to contracting to public-private partnerships—to not only generate a high-performance workforce, but to also make local governments more agile, flexible and responsive,” he said. “In short, there’s a revolution occurring worldwide in local government. We’re rethinking, re-engineering and redesigning how government will deliver services. The 21st century is demanding new approaches to ensure government is efficient and effective.”
Twice in his career, Saviak served on senior management teams responsible for significantly improving the performance of agencies with over 1,000 employees and annual budgets in excess of $100 million. Prior to teaching at Flagler, he worked as a senior administrator in local government, and he is often asked to speak to audiences of policymakers and public managers on the strategies for successfully meeting the challenges facing local government. He teaches the principles, strategies and skills of effectively leading and managing change. He recently co-authored a guide for state and local officials on how to utilize contracting and public-private partnerships to best deliver public services and needed infrastructure.
During the 2016-2017 season, Flagler celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Community Lecture Series, which was founded in 2007 to offer the local community an opportunity to explore topics covering arts, religion, politics, culture, history, economics and more with experts on the college faculty. The theme of the series this year is “Challenges at the Crossroads: Finding Solutions to Local Issues.”
The programs take place monthly. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for four lectures. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Ponce Hall Solarium at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are not required. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception.
Call (904) 826-8617 for more information, or visit here.
If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Lynn Francisco at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice.
**This event was previously scheduled for Oct. 11, but due to Hurricane Matthew clean-up efforts had to be rescheduled to Dec. 13. **
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Another victory: BRAD KING rejected for Florida Supreme Court vacancy -- covered up September 2, 2010 shooting of Michelle O'Connell
It's official, folks: St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR is a three time loser.
Overbearing Sheriff DAVID SHOAR backed two City Commission candidates in the November 2016 election -- both lost
Orotund Sheriff DAVID SHOAR backed his Ocala State's Attorney crony, BRADLEY KING, for a seat on Florida's Supreme Court.
Yes, that BRAD KING, the schlemiel who covered up the Michelle O'Connell case.
In fact, BRAD KING listed SHOAR's name first among ten (10) references given to Governor Scott.
Wonder why?
Was there a quid pro quo for King's coverup and later favors from SHOAR, including political support?
KING refuses to provide information on the employment of his adult offspring, two lawyers and a Sheriff's Deputy, claiming exemptions.
Where do they work?
That question was not answered at JNC yesterday.
But BRAD KING's maladroit mishandling of the Michelle O'Connell case was questioned by Florida Supreme Court JNC Chair
You could see the fear and anger in BRAD KING's eyes and face.
After publicly spanking a 35-year prosecutor for covering up a case covered by The New York Times, we saw just a little bit of justice.
Florida's Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Committee voted last night (November 28, 2016) not to send KING's name to Governor RICK SCOTT.
SHOAR's surname was as "HOAR" until a decade before he ran for Sheriff; HOAR had his name legally changed by a Circuit Court Judge.
During the 2016 election, Sheriff SHOAR may have violated the federal Hatch Act by using letterhead to endorse Commissioner ANDREA SAMUELS at the City of St. Augustine Beach -- SAMUELS was defeated by Maggie Kostka.
SHOAR endorsed mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS in St. Augustine, defeated by our incumbent reform mayor, Nancy Shaver.
Like SHOAR, PHILLIPS violated federal law by campaigning in St. Augustine National Cemetery.
SHOAR's developer pals spent ungodly amounts of money on lying louche Political Action Committee "postcards from the edge."
Yes.
Justice was done, for the third time in one month.
BRAD KING, the special prosecutor who helped cover up the Michelle O'Connell case, will not be going to Tallahassee to be the next member of our Florida Supreme Court. Great victory for equal justice under law. Huge defeat for St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, who is now a three time loser.
First Supreme Court JNC Chair Jason Unger Questioned BRAD KING About O'Connell Case; then BRAD KING gave inane answers; Now, KING's not on the list of the three candidates given to Governor RICK SCOTT. Finis!
Good work by Jason Unger and the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission.
Florida Supreme Court candidates make their final pitches to replace Justice Perry
Posted By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 10:19 am
Justice James E.C. Perry retires from the Florida Supreme Court at the end of 2016 because of a mandatory retirement age.
Pledging judicial restraint, 11 Florida Supreme Court hopefuls made their final pitches yesterday to a panel poised to send Gov. Rick Scott a short list of potential replacements for retiring Justice James E.C. Perry.
The face-to-face interviews at Orlando's GrayRobinson law firm allowed the nine-member Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission to query the candidates about issues ranging from which state justice they would emulate to what the title of their autobiography, if selected, should be.
The candidates include six judges, a veteran state attorney, an assistant U.S. attorney, a Republican state representative and two lawyers.
There are six female and five male candidates. All are white, and all present themselves as conservative.
During questioning, nearly all of the candidates stressed the need for "originalist" interpretation of laws while vowing to construe laws as narrowly as possible.
"It means essentially being what people call an originalist," Judge Alice Blackwell, of the 9th Judicial Circuit, said, referring to a concept embraced by the late conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
The key to avoid being a "judicial activist" is to analyze what the law says, the facts of the case and, "when you apply that law to the facts, what's the outcome that's dictated," Blackwell said.
"Activism means that you try to figure out … what the law ought to be. And that's not a judge's job. A judge's job is to figure out what the law says it is," she said.
Blackwell's self-described "conservative judicial philosophy," shared by all but one of the other candidates, is a stark contrast to the justice she and the others are seeking to replace. Perry, who will leave the court at the end of the year because of a mandatory retirement age, is one of five Supreme Court justices who make up a liberal-leaning majority that has repeatedly earned the wrath of Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature.
The nominating commission is expected to send a list of three to six names to Scott, who will make his first appointment to the Supreme Court.
The interviews Monday included discussion of personal backgrounds, along with judicial philosophy.
For example, Blackwell, 60, said said she was shaped by her roots growing up on a small farm in South Carolina, where her grandfather was once a chief justice of that state's high court. She said she graduated from high school at the top of her class a year early, and realized her lifelong dream of becoming a judge when she was appointed at age 34 in 1991.
"My earliest jobs were caring for chickens and clearing land and delivering eggs," Blackwell said. "I'm terribly interested in the ability to help influence the thinking of other people on the court by virtue of bringing a life experience that is substantially different than what anybody else on that court has."
Several of the applicants heaped high praise on conservative Justice Charles Canady when asked which jurist they would emulate if chosen for the court. Canady frequently authors dissents joined by Justice Ricky Polston; the two are known as the Florida Supreme Court's conservative minority.
"The brilliance is there. Every Thursday you look and say, OK, let's see what the dissenting opinions have brought this week," said Daniel Gerber, a defense lawyer whose recommendations include a letter from onetime Florida Attorney General Richard Doran.
Canady "advocates for judicial institutional humility," Gerber added.
"There is clarity in the restraint that he brings to the process. He has a clear unambiguous understanding about separation of powers," he said.
C. Alan Lawson, the chief judge of the 5th District Court of Appeal, also said his judicial philosophy most closely mirrors Canady's.
Lawson, 55, has a lengthy career as a trial lawyer, circuit judge and appellate judge. He applied for two Supreme Court openings in 2008 and lost out on one to Perry, who was appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist and joined the court in 2009.
"I tried really hard to find something bad about your background or someone to say something bad about you and was unsuccessful," commission member Israel Reyes, who vetted Lawson, joked at the outset of the judge's interview.
Lawson, known in the Capitol for his work lobbying the Legislature for appellate court funding, said he wanted to do more to bridge the gap between the Supreme Court and other branches of government.
"You need to make an effort,” he said, adding that after former House Speaker Dean Cannon was first elected to the Legislature, Lawson invited him to sit in on court proceedings for a day.
A relaxed Lawson appeared flummoxed only when asked about his main weakness.
"I know the governor says he looks for humility. … I need to have a really good answer for this," Lawson said, failing to come up with a shortcoming. "I just think I'm prepared for this position pretty uniquely in a lot of different ways just because … I've done so many things and I've excelled at them. Maybe I'll call you later and have an answer to this question."
While the interviews were exceedingly cordial, the panelists did ask some pointed questions of candidates, especially for those who had never served on the bench, or who have been targeted by opponents.
Commission Chairman Jason Unger asked State Attorney Brad King about a case involving the 2010 shooting death of 24-year-old Michelle O'Connell in St. Augustine. The woman's family opposes King's nomination and harshly criticized King, who was ordered by Scott to investigate the death, for failing to bring charges or to impanel a grand jury.
"Obviously, nobody is going to agree with everything my office does," King, who is based in Ocala and has served as 5th Judicial Circuit chief prosecutor for nearly three decades.
King said he based his decision not to pursue a case on his belief that he could not get a conviction.
"It really got, as sometimes it does when involving a death, people dig in. They believe that they know what happened and that their opinion is right and they don't want to listen to anything else. That's really the situation we got into with that case," he said.
King was also asked about the death penalty, one of the primary focuses of the seven-member Supreme Court. He said he disagreed with a January ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, which overturned the state's death penalty sentencing system because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries. He also strongly criticized a recent Florida Supreme Court decision that found a new law, aimed at addressing the Hurst ruling, unconstitutional because it did not require unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences to be imposed.
The Florida court majority "went well beyond the parameters" of the appeal, King said.
"That was my concern, that they took that broad (of) an approach to that whole issue," he said.
King said he would be forced to recuse himself on between 22 and 36 death penalty cases that were tried in his circuit.
Another 5th District Court of Appeal judge, Wendy Berger, was asked about her role as former Gov. Jeb Bush's death-penalty adviser. Scott appointed Berger to the appellate court three years ago.
State Rep. Larry Metz, who served as chairman of a House budget committee that controls spending for the courts, elaborated on the tension between the courts and the executive and legislative branches when pressed.
The Supreme Court should decide cases and controversies on the "narrowest" of interpretations of law, Metz said, "so you don't end up stepping on the toes of the other branches of government."
"When you have the Legislature passing a law and you have the court invalidating it without needing to invalidate it, that's going to raise tensions," Metz, 61, said.
The justices have lately "taken a more activist view of their role," he said. "Hopefully that won't continue in the future."
BRAD KING spent much of interview defending handling of Michelle O'Connell case: Florida Politics
One Supreme Court applicant cites liberal wing member as exemplar
MICHAEL MOLINE
15 hours ago
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Sylvia Grunor stood out among the second round of candidates interviewed Monday for a vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court by naming as her judicial role model the man she would replace — Justice James E.C. Perry, a member of the court’s liberal wing.
Dan Gerber, a civil-trial defense attorney with Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in Orlando, praised Justice Charles Canady, a member of the court’s conservative minority, as “among the most brilliant attorneys and supreme court justices in the country.”
Brad King, state’s attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit in Central Florida, praised the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
In fact, he said, he’d read Scalia’s book, “Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.”
“As I read it, clearly that’s the way I think things through,” King said of Scalia’s “originalist” approach to judging.
Still, to Grunor, a trial lawyer and partner with Orlando firm Palmer, Weiss, Grunor & Barclay, “Justice Perry had, to me, a good sense of himself.” He is, she said, “a family-first, law and order guy.”
But she also insisted: “I’m looking to interpret the law as it’s written.”
The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission began interviewing the 11 applicants to replace retiring Perry, who departs the bench Dec. 30.
The nominating panel will forward six names by Dec. 13 to Gov. Rick Scott, who will then name Perry’s replacement.
Scott has said that he wants a justice to follows judicial restraint and is humble.
None within the second round of interviewees has served on the bench before. Grunor said that would “add rather than detract” from her contributions to the high court.
“Being a trial lawyer, you get an idea of what goes on in the courtroom,” she said.
She would approach the work “not with an agenda,” but to apply her education and experience. “I want to make it a better place.”
Grunor ran unsuccessfully for the trial bench in 2000, and once applied to fill a vacancy in the 18th Judicial Circuit. She practices family, personal injury and insurance law.
She cautioned against judges who give overly broad interpretations of the law. “If the Legislature passed it, my job is to interpret it,” she said — and not to try to read too much into a statute.
Asked what changes she would like to see in the court system, Grunor said: “More access to the courts.” As a trial lawyer, she understands “how hard it is to get into the courthouse sometimes, and how long you have to wait.”
“If I had any influence on that, I’d like to see more judges in the courts.
Gerber has more than 28 years’ experience practicing law — mass torts and class actions, commercial litigation, and voting rights cases included, he said.
He would take “a practitioner’s point of view” to the court. He lamented that the average time for an intermediate appellate court in Florida to issue a decision is 190 days.
“Frankly, time is money,” Gerber said.
An advocate for children with autism, he said the courts represent “the last place” in which to “seek help for the helpless.”
Although not well versed in criminal law, he would approach it like “any other area of law in which you might not have experience.”
Specifically: “Read everything you can get your hands on. After a while, you’ll be able to handle those cases in a predictable manner.”
What kind of court ruling make Gerber grimace?
“When I see a judge of an appellate court saying, ‘We know better than the Legislature or an executive department,’ “ he said. “That does frustrate me when I see that.”
He hates to see “judicial hostility to the litigants and the lawyers.”
Gerber noted his long history in the conservative movement, including assignments for Republican clients during his early days at his firm, before the movement’s ascension.
“I didn’t have to do that,” Gerber said. “I took it because I believed in it.”
Asked to write his own epitaph should be win appointment, Gerber said: “He brought a stabilizing conservative presence to the Florida Supreme Court.”
King spent much of his time explaining his role in the investigation of the 2010 death of Michelle O’Connell — according to her family, at the hands of boyfriend St. Johns County Deputy Jeremy Banks.
King was one of two outside state’s attorneys assigned as special prosecutor in the case. Both determined there was insufficient evidence to support a homicide charge. Rather, King said, the evidence pointed to suicide.
“I could not have taken that case to trial” under the circumstances, despite public demands that he do just that, he said. “Fundamentally, it just wouldn’t have been right.”
He would not serve as a pro-police or pro-prosecution justice, he said.
He believes trial judges should establish the fact record in cases and appellate judges are bound to respect that.
And as for respecting legislative intent, “I don’t think (judges) have the discretion to determine that the Legislature’s intention was” beyond the statutory language, King said. They can’t decide “what they really meant.”
Three Names Sent To Scott For Supreme Court Opening -- BRAD KING NOT ON LIST
Three Names Sent To Scott For Supreme Court Opening
November 28, 2016 10:02 PM
Filed Under: Florida Politics, Florida Supreme Court, Rick Scott
CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – A lawyer who once worked to keep David Duke off the presidential ballot in Florida and two appellate judges who pledged to use judicial restraint are on a short list of replacements for retiring Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry.
The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission sent the list to Gov. Rick Scott late Monday, after interviewing 11 high court hopefuls in Orlando earlier in the day.
Fifth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge C. Alan Lawson, appellate Judge Wendy Berger and Orlando lawyer Dan Gerber made the final cut, according to a notice issued by commission Chairman Jason Unger.
Berger, appointed by Scott to the 5th District Court of Appeal three years ago, formerly served as Gov. Jeb Bush’s assistant general counsel in charge of the death penalty and clemency.
Death penalty cases are a major issue for the Supreme Court. Florida’s death penalty has been in flux for nearly a year, since a January U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, struck down the state’s capital sentencing system as unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
While working for Bush, Berger said she scrutinized death penalty cases to ensure “I felt comfortable” before recommending that the governor issue death warrants. Berger said she sentenced three defendants to death while serving as a circuit judge.
“I have a breadth of knowledge and work in death penalty cases and I understand the importance of those decisions on that level,” Berger said Monday during her interview with the nine-member nominating commission.
Berger, like the other two finalists for the post, stressed to the commission the importance of using judicial restraint. The Supreme Court justices’ role is “to apply the law, to interpret the law,” Berger said.
“It’s not to make it, or force my will upon the people through a written opinion,” she said.
During questioning, nearly all of the candidates stressed the need for “originalist” interpretation of laws while vowing to construe laws as narrowly as possible.
The finalists’ conservative judicial philosophies are a stark contrast to the justice they are seeking to replace. Perry, who will leave the court at the end of the year because of a mandatory retirement age, is one of five Supreme Court justices who make up a liberal-leaning majority that has repeatedly earned the wrath of Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Scott is required to choose a justice from the sprawling region covered by the Daytona Beach-based 5th District Court of Appeal. The region stretches across the state from Brevard to Citrus counties and includes counties such as Orange, Volusia, Marion and St. Johns.
Berger, Gerber and Lawson were among the applicants who heaped high praise on conservative Justice Charles Canady when asked which jurist they would emulate if chosen for the court. Canady frequently authors dissents joined by Justice Ricky Polston.
“The brilliance is there. Every Thursday you look and say, OK, let’s see what the dissenting opinions have brought this week,” said Gerber, a defense lawyer whose recommendations include a letter from onetime Florida Attorney General Richard Doran.
Canady “advocates for judicial institutional humility,” said Gerber, whose clients have included Publix Supermarkets and Orkin and who represented Republican members of the Florida Presidential Selection Committee seeking to keep ex-Ku Klux Klan leader Duke from being on the ballot as a Republican in 1992.
“There is clarity in the restraint that he (Canady) brings to the process. He has a clear unambiguous understanding about separation of powers,” he said.
Lawson also said his judicial philosophy most closely mirrors Canady’s.
Lawson, 55, has a lengthy career as a trial lawyer, circuit judge and appellate judge. He applied for two Supreme Court openings in 2008 and lost out on one to Perry, who was appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist and joined the court in 2009.
“I tried really hard to find something bad about your background or someone to say something bad about you and was unsuccessful,” commission member Israel Reyes, who vetted Lawson, joked at the outset of the judge’s interview.
Lawson, known in the Capitol for his work lobbying the Legislature for appellate court funding, said he wanted to do more to bridge the gap between the Supreme Court and other branches of government.
“You need to make an effort,” he said, adding that after former House Speaker Dean Cannon was first elected to the Legislature, Lawson invited him to sit in on court proceedings for a day.
A relaxed Lawson appeared flummoxed only when asked about his main weakness.
“I know the governor says he looks for humility. … I need to have a really good answer for this,” Lawson said, failing to come up with a shortcoming. “I just think I’m prepared for this position pretty uniquely in a lot of different ways just because … I’ve done so many things and I’ve excelled at them. Maybe I’ll call you later and have an answer to this question.”
All three finalists have links to the Federalist Society, a prominent conservative legal group that formed in the 1980s. The Federalist Society mentions “the rule of law” in its statement of purpose.
In a letter recommending Lawson, Don Weidner, a retired dean of the Florida State University College of Law, wrote that he first met the appellate judge when Lawson was one of Weidner’s students but that he maintained contact with him through the Federalist Society, which he described as “a group of lawyers, judges and academics interested in legal and policy discussions that include the voices of conservatives.”
“I believe that he is a principled conservative and a kind man,” Weidner wrote of Lawson.
The News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam contributed to this report.
November 28, 2016 10:02 PM
Filed Under: Florida Politics, Florida Supreme Court, Rick Scott
CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – A lawyer who once worked to keep David Duke off the presidential ballot in Florida and two appellate judges who pledged to use judicial restraint are on a short list of replacements for retiring Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry.
The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission sent the list to Gov. Rick Scott late Monday, after interviewing 11 high court hopefuls in Orlando earlier in the day.
Fifth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge C. Alan Lawson, appellate Judge Wendy Berger and Orlando lawyer Dan Gerber made the final cut, according to a notice issued by commission Chairman Jason Unger.
Berger, appointed by Scott to the 5th District Court of Appeal three years ago, formerly served as Gov. Jeb Bush’s assistant general counsel in charge of the death penalty and clemency.
Death penalty cases are a major issue for the Supreme Court. Florida’s death penalty has been in flux for nearly a year, since a January U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, struck down the state’s capital sentencing system as unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
While working for Bush, Berger said she scrutinized death penalty cases to ensure “I felt comfortable” before recommending that the governor issue death warrants. Berger said she sentenced three defendants to death while serving as a circuit judge.
“I have a breadth of knowledge and work in death penalty cases and I understand the importance of those decisions on that level,” Berger said Monday during her interview with the nine-member nominating commission.
Berger, like the other two finalists for the post, stressed to the commission the importance of using judicial restraint. The Supreme Court justices’ role is “to apply the law, to interpret the law,” Berger said.
“It’s not to make it, or force my will upon the people through a written opinion,” she said.
During questioning, nearly all of the candidates stressed the need for “originalist” interpretation of laws while vowing to construe laws as narrowly as possible.
The finalists’ conservative judicial philosophies are a stark contrast to the justice they are seeking to replace. Perry, who will leave the court at the end of the year because of a mandatory retirement age, is one of five Supreme Court justices who make up a liberal-leaning majority that has repeatedly earned the wrath of Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature.
Scott is required to choose a justice from the sprawling region covered by the Daytona Beach-based 5th District Court of Appeal. The region stretches across the state from Brevard to Citrus counties and includes counties such as Orange, Volusia, Marion and St. Johns.
Berger, Gerber and Lawson were among the applicants who heaped high praise on conservative Justice Charles Canady when asked which jurist they would emulate if chosen for the court. Canady frequently authors dissents joined by Justice Ricky Polston.
“The brilliance is there. Every Thursday you look and say, OK, let’s see what the dissenting opinions have brought this week,” said Gerber, a defense lawyer whose recommendations include a letter from onetime Florida Attorney General Richard Doran.
Canady “advocates for judicial institutional humility,” said Gerber, whose clients have included Publix Supermarkets and Orkin and who represented Republican members of the Florida Presidential Selection Committee seeking to keep ex-Ku Klux Klan leader Duke from being on the ballot as a Republican in 1992.
“There is clarity in the restraint that he (Canady) brings to the process. He has a clear unambiguous understanding about separation of powers,” he said.
Lawson also said his judicial philosophy most closely mirrors Canady’s.
Lawson, 55, has a lengthy career as a trial lawyer, circuit judge and appellate judge. He applied for two Supreme Court openings in 2008 and lost out on one to Perry, who was appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist and joined the court in 2009.
“I tried really hard to find something bad about your background or someone to say something bad about you and was unsuccessful,” commission member Israel Reyes, who vetted Lawson, joked at the outset of the judge’s interview.
Lawson, known in the Capitol for his work lobbying the Legislature for appellate court funding, said he wanted to do more to bridge the gap between the Supreme Court and other branches of government.
“You need to make an effort,” he said, adding that after former House Speaker Dean Cannon was first elected to the Legislature, Lawson invited him to sit in on court proceedings for a day.
A relaxed Lawson appeared flummoxed only when asked about his main weakness.
“I know the governor says he looks for humility. … I need to have a really good answer for this,” Lawson said, failing to come up with a shortcoming. “I just think I’m prepared for this position pretty uniquely in a lot of different ways just because … I’ve done so many things and I’ve excelled at them. Maybe I’ll call you later and have an answer to this question.”
All three finalists have links to the Federalist Society, a prominent conservative legal group that formed in the 1980s. The Federalist Society mentions “the rule of law” in its statement of purpose.
In a letter recommending Lawson, Don Weidner, a retired dean of the Florida State University College of Law, wrote that he first met the appellate judge when Lawson was one of Weidner’s students but that he maintained contact with him through the Federalist Society, which he described as “a group of lawyers, judges and academics interested in legal and policy discussions that include the voices of conservatives.”
“I believe that he is a principled conservative and a kind man,” Weidner wrote of Lawson.
The News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam contributed to this report.
Florida Supreme Court hopefuls pitch conservative credentials (NSOF)
Florida Supreme Court hopefuls pitch conservative credentials
Posted By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on Sat, Nov 26, 2016 at 4:00 pm
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
The 11 candidates hoping to join the Florida Supreme Court present a stark contrast to Justice James E.C. Perry, who is stepping down after seven years on the court due to a constitutionally mandated retirement.
The exit of Perry —- one of five jurists who make up a liberal-leaning majority —- gives Gov. Rick Scott his first opportunity to shape a bench that has repeatedly vexed the Republican chief executive and the GOP-dominated Legislature.
Perry's absence will also be noticeable in other ways; the Columbia Law School graduate is one of two black justices on the seven-member court. All of the applicants seeking to replace him are white.
The high-court hopefuls include six judges, a veteran state attorney, an assistant U.S. attorney, a Republican state representative and two lawyers.
The nine-member Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission will interview all 11 candidates Monday. The panel plans to provide Scott a short list of six names that night or the following day, giving the governor plenty of time to make a decision before Perry's resignation goes into effect Dec. 30, according to commission chairman Jason Unger.
A close review of the applications of the five men and six women seeking to replace Perry —- lauded as a civil rights leader and appointed as a circuit judge by former Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican —- provides a glimpse into the temperaments, qualifications and life experiences the candidates would bring to the bench.
Many applicants took pains to establish their conservative bona fides, at the same time stressing the attributes Scott established as a litmus test for Perry's successor.
"If you talk to any judges that I've appointed, that I've interviewed, I generally care about two things. Are they going to be humble in the process, and are they going to uphold the law," Scott told reporters in September after Perry announced his forced retirement.
Perry's replacement will have to be a resident of the area covered by the 5th District Court of Appeal, which stretches across the state from Brevard to Citrus counties and includes counties such as Orange, Volusia, Marion and St. Johns.
Applicants must also have been a member of The Florida Bar for at least the past 10 years, as required by the state Constitution.
Many of the six judges vying for the post were appointed by Scott or Bush, including 5th District Court of Appeal Chief Judge C. Alan Lawson, who applied for two Supreme Court vacancies in 2008 but lost out to Perry for one of the seats. Perry joined the court in March 2009.
Religious and social conservatives urged then-Gov. Charlie Crist to select Lawson, a Florida State University Law School graduate who also unsuccessfully ran for the state House in 1986, according to his recent application.
"Anyone who applies for this position can say that they are committed to the ideal of judicial restraint and will faithfully follow the law if appointed. I do not know that any other applicant will have a track record to prove that commitment," wrote Lawson , who listed conservative justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston as references.
Another 5th District Court of Appeal judge, Wendy Berger, promised that her selection would "offer a consistent and conservative judicial philosophy, high moral professional standards of conduct, and diversity."
State Rep. Larry Metz, a Yalaha Republican who has received awards from Americans for Prosperity and the American Conservative Union, wrote that his experience as a legislator had "sharpened" his understanding of "the three co-equal branches of government."
"Under this separation of powers court cases must be decided fairly and impartially under the law and the adjudicated facts, and judicial decisions should effectuate justice in each case on the narrowest grounds necessary to support the decision," Metz, 61, wrote.
Several applicants, including Berger, highlighted their experience with death penalty litigation, one of the most time-consuming activities conducted by the state's high court.
Berger, appointed by Scott to the appellate court three years ago, formerly served as Bush's assistant general counsel in charge of the death penalty and clemency.
Berger had to make recommendations to Bush about which Death Row inmates should be executed and sentenced three defendants to death while serving as a circuit judge, she wrote.
In one case, Berger —- who earned a reputation for harsh sentencing during her tenure on the 7th Judicial Circuit —- noted that defendant Norman McKenzie "could best be described as professorial."
"The personal interaction I had with the defendant added another dynamic to the case and made the decision to impose the death penalty more difficult, despite the overwhelming aggravating circumstances supporting the sentence," she wrote.
Of all the applicants, perhaps 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brad King has the most experience with the death penalty.
King, who has held the prosecutor post for nearly three decades, played an instrumental role earlier this year in the creation of a new state law dealing with death penalty sentencing. Lawmakers hurriedly crafted the law in response to a January U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, that struck down Florida's death penalty sentencing system as unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
King, who appeared frequently before lawmakers during committee meetings, was among prosecutors who recommended that Florida switch from a simple majority jury recommendation to a 10-2 recommendation for the death sentence to be imposed. The Florida Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, recently decided that the law was unconstitutional because it did not require unanimous recommendations.
King, in his application, noted he was the only state attorney to seek a Supreme Court post in more than four decades. King said he is "uniquely qualified," especially because of his experience handling capital cases.
King, 59, also swiped at both the Legislature and the liberal-leaning court.
King criticized a recent ruling that overturned the death sentence of intellectually disabled murderer Freddie Lee Hall, convicted of killing a woman who was seven months pregnant.
"I learned from this case that courts are not always intellectually honest in their decision making," King wrote. "A majority of four simply decided that they would substitute their judgement for that of the trial court and decide that Hall should not be sentenced to death."
King also wrote of his role in the investigation of a suspended Hernando School Board member, at the request of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Florida Senate, in 1994. The Senate eventually took no action on the suspension, according to King's account.
"I took a valuable political lesson away from this interesting proceeding. Things are done in the Legislature to achieve a desired result. The facts and truth do not matter as much as what the political objective is," King wrote.
Another applicant, Osceola County Circuit Judge Patricia Strowbridge, appointed by Scott to the 9th Judicial Circuit last year, was instrumental in rewriting the state's adoption laws during Bush's tenure.
Strowbridge, 56, founded an Orlando adoption agency and focused on adoption, fertility clinics, surrogates and egg donors in her law practice. Strowbridge, who graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, also served as an adviser to onetime presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.
Meanwhile, 40-year-old Seminole County Circuit Judge Michael Joseph Rudisill, appointed by Scott to the 18th Judicial Circuit in 2009 and since re-elected, relied on his age to convince the nominating commission and the governor that he is fit for the job.
Rudisill's youth "offers the opportunity for a lifelong legacy," the judge wrote in a 22-page submission that failed to include requested information, such as significant cases he had ruled on or participated in as a lawyer, or his net worth.
"Not 5, 10 or 15 years. I am able to spend the next 30 years of my life on the Supreme Court, the highest court in our state, the greatest honor that a member of the judicary (sic) could hope for, and I can start that legacy now," Rudisill wrote.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
DON'T APPOINT BRAD KING TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
UPDATE: Sent second e-mail after today's (November 28, 2016) meeting of JNC adjourned to begin private deliberations at the Orlando law offices of GrayRobinson:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Jason.Unger; cynthiagangelos ; DNordby ; karlinskyf ; hala.sandridge ; ireyes ; jeanne ; jpanuccio ; nildapedrosa
Cc: bking
Sent: Mon, Nov 28, 2016 6:30 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
Political prosecutor BRADLEY KING covered up the Michelle O'Connell case. Ask Governor Scott to deny him a promotion to our Florida Supreme Court.
; cynthiagangelos ; DNordby ; karlinskyf ; hala.sandridge ; ireyes ; jeanne ; jpanuccio ; nildapedrosa ; Jack.Reid ; scottopengov ; Amanda.Gorman ; Peter.Penrod ; ben.gibson
Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2016 1:54 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (typos corrected, amended)
4. Mr. King is a callous political prosecutor with no judicial experience and no experience with civil litigation. He is unqualified.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Jason.Unger
Cc: bking
Sent: Mon, Nov 28, 2016 6:30 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
Dear Mr. Unger and Florida Supreme Court JNC members:
Thank you all for your vetting eleven judges and lawyers seeking to be our next Florida Supreme Court Justice.
Thank you for asking probing questions of Supreme Court applicants today -- most notably Fifth Circuit State's Attorney Bradley King:
Thank you all for your vetting eleven judges and lawyers seeking to be our next Florida Supreme Court Justice.
Thank you for asking probing questions of Supreme Court applicants today -- most notably Fifth Circuit State's Attorney Bradley King:
1. Mr. BradleyKing made some possible material misstatements of fact and law about the Michelle O'Connell case to you today. Bradley King is still relying on the unscientifc "suicide" pretext. Mr. King clings to his "suicide" conclusion concerning a case of apparent Officer-Invlolved Domestic Violence. Mr. King clings to his poor investigative work despite the 2016 independent autopsy finding Michelle's jaw being fractured. Please play today's tape or review your notes or transcript.
2. Mr. King opined that the extravagantly erroneous opinion of our Medical Examiner, Predrag Bulic, somehow takes the place of Florida law on convening an F.S. 936 inquest. Mr. King's assertion was unadorned by any legal authority for usurping the function of the legislature in creating F.S. 136 inquests. Mr. King admittedly refused the family's requests to convene an inquest, obstructing justice.
3. Mr. King expressed touching trust in a maladroit Medical Examiner, one who contends that guns recoil forward, e.g., in the second of two gunshots, the one that killed Michelle O'Connell. Mr. King shows forensic flummery, obstructing justice by ukase, based on purported acceptance of unscientific beliefs, in defiance of the laws of physics. No, Mr. King, guns do not recoil forward.
4. Mr. King stated that he is "the adviser to the grand jury" and essentially that he knew better than any grand jury, not giving any principled reason for his decision not to take the O'Connell case to a grand jury.
5. There was no principled reason for Mr. King's refusal to take the case to an inquest or a grand jury.
6. In FDR's words, quoting Dante, this looks like a "government frozen in the ice of its own difference."
7. These are not the actions of a "strict constructionist," but of, in Bradley King's own words, "different sets of rules are obviously applied to reach a result that someone wants rather that what is just.".
8. Mr. King has still not disclosed requested information on the names of employers of his adult offspring. Why? Me. King has not stated whether he or any of his family members has received any money or thing of value from St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, a primary beneficiary of Special Prosecutor King's coverup. Why? (Footnote: Yes, in response to an e-mail reader's question, Sheriff DAVID SHOAR legally changed his name from "HOAR" before running for elected office. As Dave Barry would say, "I am not making this up." Neither is The New York Times or PBS Frontline.)
9. Several of Mr. Bradley King's answers today prove that he is unfit to serve on our Florida Supreme Court. Mr. King's coverup in the Michelle O'Connell case is a national embarrassment: a King appointment by Governor Scott would taint our JNC and Florida Supreme Court. If you have not already, please see The New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/.; and likewise, please see the PBS Frontline episode, here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/
Please vote no on Mr. Bradley King's application.
10. Thank you all in advance for your thorough deliberations.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
 | ||||
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: Jason.Unger; cynthiagangelos <cynthiagangelos@gmail.com>; DNordby <DNordby@shutts.com>; karlinskyf <karlinskyf@gtlaw.com>; hala.sandridge <hala.sandridge@bipc.com>; ireyes <ireyes@reyeslawfirmpa.com>; jeanne <jeanne@jtatelaw.com>; jpanuccio <jpanuccio@foley.com>; nildapedrosa <nildapedrosa@gmail.com>; Jack.Reid <Jack.Reid@eog.myflorida.com>; scottopengov <scottopengov@eog.myflorida.com>; Amanda.Gorman <Amanda.Gorman@eog.myflorida.com>; Peter.Penrod <Peter.Penrod@eog.myflorida.com>; ben.gibson <ben.gibson@eog.myflorida.com>
Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2016 1:54 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (typos corrected, amended)
4. Mr. King is a callous political prosecutor with no judicial experience and no experience with civil litigation. He is unqualified.
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: Jason.Unger
Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2016 1:54 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (typos corrected, amended)
Dear Governor Scott, Mr. Unger, Ms. Angelos, Mr. Nordby, Mr. Karlinsky, Ms. Sandridge, Ms. Pedrosa, Judge Reyes, Ms. Tate, Mr. Panuccio, as members of the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission:
I am writing to ask that you neither nominate nor recommend BRADLEY KING to be a Florida Supreme Court Justice:
1. As a special prosecutor, appointed by Governor Scott, Fifth Circuit State's Attorney Bradley King helped cover up the September 2, 2010 shooting of Ms. Michelle O'Connell in the home of St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Banks, discounting forensic evidence and refusing to take it to a grand jury. Mr. King appears to have obstructed justice. Mr. King is an unjust steward and utterly unfit to serve on our Florida Supreme Court. Please read The New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/. Please view the PBS Frontline episode, here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/
Then re-read the hypocrisy in Mr. King's application, where he affects empathy, stating inter alia:
- I have seen horrific crimes that turn the public's stomach and have worked on behalf of victims and the community to see that those criminals are appropriately punished.(Bradley King response to question 51)
Then examine Mr. King's attachment in response to question 30, where he archly states of the Florida State Senate:
The Senate hearing was a rare instance when different sets of rules are obviously applied to reach a result that someone wants rather that what is just.
(Bradley King response to question 30). What a Freudian (or Floridian) slip. That is exactly what Bradley King appears to have done as special prosecutor in the Michelle O'Connell case -- he applied "different sets of rules… to reach a result that [Sheriff David Shoar] want[ed] rather than what is just."
2. Mr. King's misleading, mishandling and craven coverup of the Michelle O'Connell shooting -- this internationally infamous, notorious case of apparent Officer-Involved Domestic Violence -- appears to have violated our Florida Constitution, which provides:
SECTION 21. Access to courts.—The courts shall be open to every person for redress of any injury, and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.
3. Mr. King's revealing response to question 54 of Supreme Court application lists the key beneficiary of this O'Connell case coverup, Sheriff DAVID B. SHOAR f/k/a "HOAR" as his number one reference. Wonder why? So do I. Please ask Mr. King about it.
5. Mr. King has very limited life experience. In fact, he has had only one (1) employer since graduating law school. He has worked for the Fifth Circuit State's Attorney's office since law school graduation in 1981, with brief employment as a Sheriff's deputy during an unexplained break in his law school studies. Mr. King's mendacious mistreatment of the O'Connell family, as documented by The New York Times and PBS Frontline, shows he is deeply insensitive to crime victims and their families, slamming the courthouse door on the O'Connell family and refusing to take the facts to a grand jury.
6. Mr. King has provided no published legal writing sample from any scholarly journal -- his "writing sample" was written or co-written by his staff. Mr. King refused to follow instructions on the application, failing to quantify and give names of cases. His application is incomplete and an apparent "rush job." It contains spelling and grammatical errors, even misspelling the name of his undergraduate degree ("BATCHELOR.") Mr. King lacks the objective, serious, scholarly and detail-oriented skill set required of appellate judges.
7. Oddly claiming an F.S. 119 exemption, Mr. King "redacted" essential information from his application. As of 1:30 PM on the day before his interview, the unqualified Mr. King still refuses to disclose the employers of his three (3) adult offspring, one of whom is a Sheriff's deputy, one of whom clerks for a Florida Court of Appeals Judge, and one of whom works for a State's Attorney. Why?
8. Please ask Mr. King to provide details on the hiring of his three (3) adult offspring. Were any of them a case of quid pro quo?
9. Please question Mr. King about his putative "writing sample" and his lack of life experience.
10. JNC MEMBERS: Please do not include Mr. King among your recommendations to Governor Scott.
11. Governor Scott, there are very well-qualified, experienced appellate judges who have applied for the Supreme Court vacancy.
12. Governor Scott, please name to the Florida Supreme Court someone who will respect our rights, and not slam our courthouse doors on the fingers of people seeking justice in Florida.
Thank you all for your service.
With kindest regards, I am,
Political prosecutor BRADLEY KING covered up the Michelle O'Connell case. Ask Governor Scott to deny him a promotion to our Florida Supreme Court.
From: Ed Slavin
To: Jason.Unger Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2016 1:54 pm
Subject: Re: REJECT NOMINATION OF BRADLEY KING AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (typos corrected, amended)
Dear Governor Scott, Mr. Unger, Ms. Angelos, Mr. Nordby, Mr. Karlinsky, Ms. Sandridge, Ms. Pedrosa, Judge Reyes, Ms. Tate, Mr. Panuccio, as members of the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission:
I am writing to ask that you neither nominate nor recommend BRADLEY KING to be a Florida Supreme Court Justice:
1. As a special prosecutor, appointed by Governor Scott, Fifth Circuit State's Attorney Bradley King helped cover up the September 2, 2010 shooting of Ms. Michelle O'Connell in the home of St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Banks, discounting forensic evidence and refusing to take it to a grand jury. Mr. King appears to have obstructed justice. Mr. King is an unjust steward and utterly unfit to serve on our Florida Supreme Court. Please read The New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/. Please view the PBS Frontline episode, here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/
Then re-read the hypocrisy in Mr. King's application, where he affects empathy, stating inter alia:
- I have seen horrific crimes that turn the public's stomach and have worked on behalf of victims and the community to see that those criminals are appropriately punished.(Bradley King response to question 51)
Then examine Mr. King's attachment in response to question 30, where he archly states of the Florida State Senate:
The Senate hearing was a rare instance when different sets of rules are obviously applied to reach a result that someone wants rather that what is just.
(Bradley King response to question 30). What a Freudian (or Floridian) slip. That is exactly what Bradley King appears to have done as special prosecutor in the Michelle O'Connell case -- he applied "different sets of rules… to reach a result that [Sheriff David Shoar] want[ed] rather than what is just."
2. Mr. King's misleading, mishandling and craven coverup of the Michelle O'Connell shooting -- this internationally infamous, notorious case of apparent Officer-Involved Domestic Violence -- appears to have violated our Florida Constitution, which provides:
SECTION 21. Access to courts.—The courts shall be open to every person for redress of any injury, and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.
3. Mr. King's revealing response to question 54 of Supreme Court application lists the key beneficiary of this O'Connell case coverup,
Sheriff DAVID B. SHOAR f/k/a "HOAR" as his number one reference. Wonder why? So do I. Please ask Mr. King about it.
5. Mr. King has very limited life experience. In fact, he has had only one (1) employer since graduating law school. He has worked for the Fifth Circuit State's Attorney's office since law school graduation in 1981, with brief employment as a Sheriff's deputy during an unexplained break in his law school studies. Mr. King's mendacious mistreatment of the O'Connell family, as documented by The New York Times and PBS Frontline, shows he is deeply insensitive to crime victims and their families, slamming the courthouse door on the O'Connell family and refusing to take the facts to a grand jury.
6. Mr. King has provided no published legal writing sample from any scholarly journal -- his "writing sample" was written or co-written by his staff. Mr. King refused to follow instructions on the application, failing to quantify and give names of cases. His application is incomplete and an apparent "rush job." It contains spelling and grammatical errors, even misspelling the name of his undergraduate degree ("BATCHELOR.") Mr. King lacks the objective, serious, scholarly and detail-oriented skill set required of appellate judges.
7. Oddly claiming an F.S. 119 exemption, Mr. King "redacted" essential information from his application. As of 1:30 PM on the day before his interview, the unqualified Mr. King still refuses to disclose the employers of his three (3) adult offspring, one of whom is a Sheriff's deputy, one of whom clerks for a Florida Court of Appeals Judge, and one of whom works for a State's Attorney. Why?
8. Please ask Mr. King to provide details on the hiring of his three (3) adult offspring. Were any of them a case of quid pro quo?
9. Please question Mr. King about his putative "writing sample" and his lack of life experience.
10. JNC MEMBERS: Please do not include Mr. King among your recommendations to Governor Scott.
11. Governor Scott, there are very well-qualified, experienced appellate judges who have applied for the Supreme Court vacancy.
12. Governor Scott, please name to the Florida Supreme Court someone who will respect our rights, and not slam our courthouse doors on the fingers of people seeking justice in Florida.
Thank you all for your service.
With kindest regards, I am,
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