Wednesday, November 23, 2016

UnAMERICAN ACTIVITIES: Conflicted GrayRobinson Lobbyist JASON UNGER, FL Supreme Court JNC Chair, conceals data on two FL Supreme Court vacancy applicants with local ties



St. Augustine, Florida Mayor Nancy Shaver speaks with Florida Gov. RICK SCOTT, who called her "relentless" in seeking government assistance to preserve and protect St. Augustine.


UPDATE:  Governor Scott's office now has my request.  (I'm relentless, too.)


Florida Supreme Court chambers

(corrected)
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin 
To: Jack.Reid ; scottopengov 
Cc: Amanda.Gorman ; Peter.Penrod ; ben.gibson ; Jason.Unger ; bking ; bergerw ; Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 2:43 pm
Subject: EXPEDITED RELEASE OF Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission documents; my Open Records Request 2016-436

Dear Governor Scott and Mr. Reid:
1. Please direct the Supreme Court JNC to hold its 11/28 meeting in a government building, and not in the Orlando office at GrayRobinson.  The Orlando Public Library's Palm Room is both suitable and available.  No further excuses are desired or required from Mr. Jason Unger, a tobacco and alcohol lobbyist who chairs the  Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
2. On November 15, 2016, I first requested from JNC Chair Mr. Jason Unger "copies of all the Supreme Court vacancy applications and recommendations."  
3. Mr. Jason Unger did not refer my request to you, or acknowledge your authority as Governor, until today, eight (8) days later. 
4. Please provide the records today.   Again, JNC meets 11/28 (Monday), in five (5) days.  Mr. Unger delayed my request.
5. Mr. Jason Unger has provided eleven redacted applications, but no other records.6. Mr. Jason Unger wrongfully withheld the employer names of two candidates' adult offspring and spouse, respectively.
7. These are our records -- please release them today.
Happy Thanksgiving.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998


-----Original Message-----
From: Reid, Jack <Jack.Reid@eog.myflorida.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Cc: Gorman, Amanda <Amanda.Gorman@eog.myflorida.com>; Penrod, Peter <Peter.Penrod@eog.myflorida.com>; Gibson, Ben <ben.gibson@eog.myflorida.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 1:41 pm
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting; Open Records Request Redactions


Good Afternoon Mr. Slavin,
Governor Rick Scott’s Office of Open Government received your request for records, a copy of which is below for your reference. A search for responsive records will be initiated and someone from this office will be back in touch with you soon.  If the search produces a volume of records which indicates that there will be a fee associated with your request, you will be provided with a fee estimate for your review.  Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of the Governor, and Happy Thanksgiving. 
Sincerely,

Jack Reid

Director, Office of Open Government

Executive Office of Governor Rick Scott

PL-04 The Capitol

Tallahassee, FL  32399

(850) 717-9248


Please note that Florida has a broad public records law, and that all correspondence to me via email may be subject to disclosure. Under Florida law email addresses are public records.

Learn more about how Governor Rick Scott is creating an environment where private-sector jobs can grow and Florida’s schools prepare students for college and careers. Sign up to receive Governor Scott’s e-mail updates at www.FLGov.com/newsletter.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin 
To: Jason.Unger 
Cc: Jack.Reid ; bking ; bergerw ; Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 1:58 pm
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting; my Open Records Request No. 2016-436


Dear Mr. Unger:
1. Thank you.  

2. Please be sure someone sends me PDFs of all of the other requested Supreme Court JNC documents. (I have only the eleven applications on a thumb drive).
3. Concerning the 11/28 JNC meeting venue -- have you changed it from the GrayRobinson offices to the Orlando Public Library?
4. Will public comment be on the agenda?
Thank you again.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998


-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Unger 
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Cc: Jack.Reid <Jack.Reid@eog.myflorida.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 12:05 pm
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting; Open Records Request Redactions
Thank you Mr. Slavin, and Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. I've copied Jack Reid from the Governor's Office of Open Government so he can review your request.  The Governor's Office is custodian of the records, and has the original, unredacted applications in its possession.   

Sent from my iPhone


Jason Unger | Managing Shareholder
G R A Y | R O B I N S O N

301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee, Florida 32301
T: 850-577-9090 | F: 850-577-3311 | D: 850-577-5489
E-mail | Website | Bio | vCard
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter








LOUCHE LIQUOR LOBBYIST LACKEY JASON UNGER, Tallahassee Republican/MePublican apparatchik, who represents corporations and government agencies (Tampa, Hollywood and Key West)(a controversial practice, which Speaker-elect Richard Corcoran calls "a disgrace" for governments to hire lobbyists), refuses to move November 28, 2016 meeting of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominations Commission to a public building.  They're meeting at his law firm HQ in Orlando, GrayRobinson, of which he is Managing Shareholder and Republican Lord of All He Surveys.  How gauche and louche.
The People's Business of the Florida Judicial Nominations Commission must be done in courthouses, commission chambers, libraries or other public buildings -- not in corporate law firm offices, cartel meetings or whorehouses.

(Art by Warren Celli, Copyright © 2016 Warren Cell, All Rights Reserved).

Former St. Augustine prosecutor and St. Johns County Circuit Judge JUDGE WENDY BERGER takes oath of office as Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge, with Bible held by husband, 


LARRY BERGER, before Supreme Court Justice Charles Canaday (SAR)

For what corporation is Judge Wendy Berger's husband, Larry Berger a CEO?

For what corporation is Larry Berger the Executive Vice President?

Fifth Circuit State's Attorney BRADLEY EUGENE KING was named by Governor RICHARD LYNN SCOTT as the maladroit, incurious special prosecutor, never taking to a grand jury to investigate the September 2, 2010 shooting of Michelle O'Connell in the home of St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy JEREMY BANKS.  For what Florida Sheriff does State's Attorney BRAD KING's son, Chase King, work as a Deputy Sheriff?

You have a Right to Know.

The 300 lawyer GrayRobinson law firm Managing Shareholder, JASON UNGER, wants to keep this information secret.

To whom does JASON UNGER think he's talking?

As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Secrecy is for losers."

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Jason.Unger
Sent: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 8:30 am
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting; Open Records Request Redactions


Dear Mr. Unger:


A. Our Florida Open Records Act exemptions are "narrowly construed."  The two quoted sections you sent me from your iPhone yesterday at 3:26 PM both appear to be inapplicable.  F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(c) and F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(d).



B. Did you speak to Judge Berger and Mr. King?  Did you do any research?  Are you personally asserting the exemptions?  Is JNC?  Is Judge Berger?  Is Mr. King?  Have you or anyone else received any legal advice from Assistant Florida Attorney General Pat Gleason?  From someone else?  Please provide all pertinent documents the invocation of these two exemptions.  Again, our Florida Open Records Act exemptions are narrowly construed.  Some of the information for which you assert "exemptions" is:

1. already published in one of the two applications, or 

2. already published in newspapers (along with Larry Berger's photo), or
3. already published on the Florida Bar website.  
This makes your November 22, 2016 e-mail -- and its unreasoned, undocumented, unexplained, unadorned and uninformed ukase asserting exemptions -- at best, facetious.  

C. Please cease and desist from obstructing, blocking and resisting publishing online the text of the eleven applications on a website.  

D. Kindly stop blocking public access to data concerning possible conflicts of interest by applicants Brad King and Wendy Berger. 


E. Kindly disclose by 3 PM today:
1.  the name of CEO/EVP Larry Berger's corporate employers;
2.  the name of Sheriff's Deputy Chase King's specific Sheriff's Department employer;
3.  the name of the specific Court of Appeals Judge for whom Andrew King clerks at the 1st DCA in Tallahassee.  
Then we'll be done.

F. The names of one spouse and two adult offspring in quo are already disclosed. I merely asked you for the identity of their employers, not "addresses" or "places of employment."   Your rote invocation of inapplicable "exemptions" is violating the rights of 20 million residents of Florida and our constitutional Right to Know.  Florida Const., Article I, Section 24.  This violates our First and Ninth Amendment rights.

G. We, the People all have an indefeasible Right to Know about potential conflicts of interest, self-dealing and nepotism by all applicants who aspire to be our Florida Supreme Court Justices.   

I. Judge Berger's husband, Larry Berger, is admittedly a corporate CEO and EVP, thus potentially seeking government favors and contracts without disclosing for what corporations he works.  For which corporations?  Keeping that information secret has no valid public function. It is deeply offensive -- it would deprive journalists of the ability to report the news.  It would deny potential witnesses of the right to provide information to JNC on November 28th.  It would deny potentially affected parties of the right to file recusal motions and ethics complaints.  Fifth Circuit State's Attorney Bradley King's son, Chase King, is a Sheriff's Deputy.  For what Sheriff's Department?  Keeping the name of the Sheriff's Department for which Deputy Chase King works secret from public knowledge likewise has no valid public function.  It is unseemly. It is unAmerican.  As the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote, "… secrecy is for losers."  Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Secrecy: The American Experience (1998).   

J.  I have not asked for:
c. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, district court of appeal judges, circuit court judges, and county court judges; the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and children of current or former justices and judges; and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of current or former justices and judges are exempt from s. 119.07(1).
d.(I) The home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors; the home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of current or former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
(II) The names of the spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
(III) Sub-sub-subparagraph (II) is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2018, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(c) and F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(d).

K.  Where will the November 28, 2016 meeting of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission be held?  In the Palm Room at the Orlando Public Library?  That's what I suggested by November 20, 2016 e-mail, to which you did not respond.  If not, why not?

L. Or will FSCJNC still be meeting in your GrayRobinson lobbyist/law firm offices in Orlando?  If so, why?

M. What makes you so insensitive about conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety as to insist on meeting in the offices of a 300 lawyer corporate law firm?  After you criticized courthouse operating hours, I responded.  I gave you an attractive, accessible and easily attainable alternative -- Orlando Public Library's Palm Room, open until 8 PM.  That alternative easily avoids the appearance of impropriety of the Florida Supreme Court JNC meeting in the offices of your 300 lawyer corporate law firm, one where you work as Managing Shareholder,  and where you daily do lobbying work for liquor, tobacco, municipal, health care and other special interests.  

N. Will public comment be taken at the JNC's November 28, 2016 meeting?  Please place it on the agenda.

O. I have asked the staff of the new Speaker of our Florida State House of Representatives, Rep. Richard Corcoran, to investigate our Florida Supreme Court JNC's actions as part of the Speaker's anticipated crackdown on the undue and corrupting influence of lobbyists in Tallahassee.  I have shared this e-mail with Speaker Corcoran.

P. Please call me to discuss, today.  As RFK once wrote to Sen. James O. Eastland, "Repent now, there's still time."

Happy Thanksgiving, Chairman Unger.

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998


-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Unger
To: easlavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Nov 22, 2016 3:26 pm
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting; Open Records Request Redactions
Mr. Slavin,

Please see exemptions under F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(c) and F.S. 119.071(4)(d)(2)(d).  A website link is provided below for your convenience. Thank you.  


Jason Unger | Managing Shareholder
G R A Y | R O B I N S O N

301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee, Florida 32301
T: 850-577-9090 | F: 850-577-3311 | D: 850-577-5489
E-mail | Website | Bio | vCard
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

On Nov 21, 2016, at 3:09 PM, Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com> wrote:


Dear Mr. Unger:
Thank you for the thumb drive containing the eleven (11) applications.  I received it today.

A. Please note the following questionable redactions or material omissions of fact, which I have noticed thus far:

1.  The names of the employers of Brad King's adult children (which Sheriff?  Which DCA Judge?  Which State's Attorney?  All are public records.)

2.  The name of Wendy Berger's husband, where he is employed as CEO and EVP (she does not list those corporations among likely recusals in response to Q34). 

Since Judge Berger's husband's name (Larry)(and photograph) appeared in the newspapers upon her inauguration as DCA judge, there is no legitimate purpose served in omitting either that or the name of his current corporate employers.

B. These omissions may suggest a lack of openness and candor on the part of these two applicants and require further scrutiny.
C. Please provide the requested information today, pursuant to F.S. 119 and Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Unger <Jason.Unger@gray-robinson.com>
To: easlavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Cc: Cynthia Angelos <cynthiagangelos@gmail.com>; Daniel Nordby <DNordby@shutts.com>; Fred Karlinsky <karlinskyf@gtlaw.com>; Hala Sandridge <hala.sandridge@bipc.com>; Israel U. Reyes <ireyes@reyeslawfirmpa.com>; Jason Unger <Jason.Unger@gray-robinson.com>; Jeanne T. Tate <jeanne@jtatelaw.com>; Jesse Panuccio <jpanuccio@foley.com>; Nilda Pedrosa <nildapedrosa@gmail.com>
Sent: Sat, Nov 19, 2016 11:41 am
Subject: RE: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request
Thank you Mr. Slavin.  I have no documents responsive to your request below as the venue selection was done orally at our October meeting.

I appreciate your concerns and will call you as requested, but law firm offices are typically used for such interviews because JNCs are independent, constitutionally created bodies with no state funding. Government buildings and courthouses can be problematic in that they generally close by 5:00 pm (interviews and deliberations will continue well past 5:00 pm) and don't have dedicated staff to assist JNCs with the copying/printing of documents, etc.   
The interviews on November 28th are open to the public and, per the Florida Channel, will be broadcast live throughout the state.



Jason Unger | Managing Shareholder
G R A Y | R O B I N S O N

301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee, Florida 32301
T: 850-577-9090 | F: 850-577-3311 | D: 850-577-5489
E-mail | Website | Bio | vCard
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
From: Ed Slavin [easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2016 9:35 AM
To: Jason Unger
Subject: Re: Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request

Dear Chairman Unger:
1. Please respond to my questions about your scheduling the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission meeting at GrayRobinson offices.  

2. GrayRobinson is a 300 lawyer corporate law firm that represents government contractors, various seekers of government favors and alleged polluters, fraudfeasors, oligopolists, white collar criminals and other influential special interests who dominate our government.

3. Picking the next Florida Supreme Court Justice in a meeting in your Orlando GrayRobinson law firm office shows very poor judgment. Your venue selection is, at best, unseemly.  Can you imagine how your six Supreme Court Justice recommendations to Governor Scott might be viewed by all of the people who are plaintiffs or defendants in cases where GrayRobinson represents a party?  Put yourself in their shoes. Show transparency, please.  Show empathy, respect and consideration for the majority of the people in the State of Florida, who are not rich, powerful or corporate officers.

4. As our Florida House of Representatives Speaker-elect Richard Corcoran has said, it is a "disgrace" that Florida city and county governments hire lobbyists in Florida, or to feel that they are obliged to hire a bagman-fundraiser-lobbyist-bundler to be heard by our legislators in Tallahassee.  

5. You, sir, are the Managing Shareholder of GrayRobinson and are the registered lobbyist for at least three (3) Florida city governments and numerous special interests, including liquor and tobacco companies.

6. For a lobbyist to chair the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission is bad enough, but holding the JNC meeting in your own GrayRobinson law firm office is a stench in the nostrils of our Nation.  It is freighted with the odor of special interest domination of the judicial selection process for the next Justice of our Florida Supreme Court.
7. Why did the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission ever even think of scheduling the meeting for a corporate law firm office instead of a public building, like a Courthouse?  
8. Who authorized it in the Governor's office?  Anyone?  Please provide documents.
9. Who suggested it on the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission?  Was it you?  Was there a vote to pick the venue, or did you decide unilaterally?  Please provide all documents on the selection of your chosen venue, which is, at best, an appearance of impropriety.
10. Will you and the other members of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission kindly agree to relocate the November 28, 2016 meeting of the Commission to an actual Courthouse or other suitable government building, regardless of your assertions about alleged "logistics?   
Please call me to discuss.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: Jason.Unger <Jason.Unger@gray-robinson.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 16, 2016 1:34 pm
Subject: Re: Florida Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request

Dear Mr. Unger:
1. Please send thumb drives.

2. Please place all documents on judicial, Florida Bar or Governor's website.

3. Please identify specific F.S. 119 statutory exemptions for each redactions with a Vaughn index.
4. Please answer my question and kindly change meeting location from GrayRobinson offices.

Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-377-4998

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Unger <Jason.Unger@gray-robinson.com>
To: easlavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 16, 2016 1:18 pm
Subject: RE: Florida Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request
Mr. Slavin,
There is no Florida Judicial Nominating Commission website.  The Florida Bar does have certain JNC information posted on its website, but the Supreme Court JNC has no control over The Florida Bar.   The Governor’s Office is in receipt of the applications and may be placing them on the Governor’s website for easier access.   That link is:
http://www.flgov.com/judicial-and-judicial-nominating-commission-information/
I have redacted applications and letters of recommendation available for inspection and/or copying, or I can mail you thumb drives.    Thank you again.
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 8:46 AM
To: Jason Unger; nildapedrosa@gmail.com; cynthiagangelos@gmail.com; karlinskyf@gtlaw.com; dnordby@shutts.com; jpanuccio@foley.com; ireyes@reyeslawfirmpa.com; jeanne@jtatelaw.com.
Subject: Re: Florida Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request
Dear Mr. Unger:
Thank you.  
Please place on the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission website so all can read it.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-377-4998

Jason Unger | Managing Shareholder
G R A Y | R O B I N S O N

301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee, Florida 32301
T: 850-577-9090 | F: 850-577-3311 | D: 850-577-5489
E-mail | Website | Bio | vCard
Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Unger <Jason.Unger@gray-robinson.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>; nildapedrosa <nildapedrosa@gmail.com>; cynthiagangelos <cynthiagangelos@gmail.com>; karlinskyf <karlinskyf@gtlaw.com>; dnordby <dnordby@shutts.com>; jpanuccio <jpanuccio@foley.com>; ireyes <ireyes@reyeslawfirmpa.com>; jeanne <jeanne@jtatelaw.com.>
Cc: scottopengov <scottopengov@eog.myflorida.com>; pat.gleason <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; susancoopereastman <susancoopereastman@gmail.com>; jim.sutton <jim.sutton@staugustine.com>; ankersen <ankersen@law.ufl.edu>; hamann <hamann@law.ufl.edu>; little <little@law.ufl.edu>; mills <mills@law.ufl.edu>; rosenbury <rosenbury@law.ufl.ed>; Teresa Barreiro <Teresa.Barreiro@gray-robinson.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 16, 2016 8:25 am
Subject: RE: Florida Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request
Mr. Slavin, 
I can have all Supreme Court applications for this vacancy (with legally exempt information redacted by the applicants) copied to a thumb drive and mailed to you today.  Please advise as to the mailing address.   I will ask my assistant to create a second thumb drive of recommendation letters and send that to you as well early next week.  Thank you for your patience.

Jason Unger | Managing ShareholderG R A Y | R O B I N S O N

301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee, Florida 32301T: 850-577-9090 | F: 850-577-3311 | D: 850-577-5489E-mail | Website | Bio | vCard

Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

This e-mail is intended only for the individual(s) or entity(s) named within the message. This e-mail might contain legally privileged and confidential information. If you properly received this e-mail as a client or retained expert, please hold it in confidence to protect the attorney-client or work product privileges. Should the intended recipient forward or disclose this message to another person or party, that action could constitute a waiver of the attorney-client privilege. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is prohibited by the sender and to do so might constitute a violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. section 2510-2521. If this communication was received in error we apologize for the intrusion. Please notify us by reply e-mail and delete the original message without reading same. Nothing in this e-mail message shall, in and of itself, create an attorney-client relationship with the sender.
From: Ed Slavin [easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 5:35 PM
To: Jason Unger; nildapedrosa@gmail.com; cynthiagangelos@gmail.com; karlinskyf@gtlaw.com; dnordby@shutts.com; jpanuccio@foley.com; ireyes@reyeslawfirmpa.com; jeanne@jtatelaw.com.
Cc: scottopengov@eog.myflorida.com; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com; susancoopereastman@gmail.com; jim.sutton@staugustine.com; ankersen@law.ufl.edu; hamann@law.ufl.edu; little@law.ufl.edu; mills@law.ufl.edu; rosenbury@law.ufl.ed
Subject: Florida Judicial Nominating Commission meeting in office of corporate law firm, GrayRobinson; Open Records request
Dear Chairman Unger and  Florida Judicial Nominating Commission members:
1. Why are your November 28, 2016 interviews of Florida Supreme Court applicants being held in the offices of a corporate law firm, GrayRobinson, a 300 lawyer corporate law firm with 13 locations in Florida, representing ?
2. I object to this corporate law firm meeting location as, at best, an appearance of impropriety.
3.  As Juan Ortega y Gasset said, "yo soy mi y mis circumstancias."  ("I am me and my surroundings.")
4. Meeting location is important and symbolic, just like polling place location.   
5. As Adrien Davich wrote in The New York Times Magazine:
Ever since the 2000 election, Democrats and Republicans alike have complained that our voting system is vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. They have scrutinized “hanging chads,” “hiccupping” and “choking” voting machines, miscounted absentee ballots and e-votes that leave no paper trail. Now, though, they may have something more subtle to worry about: the location of polling stations. This year, Jonah Berger, Marc Meredith and S. Christian Wheeler, researchers at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, released a study suggesting that where you vote may significantly influence how you vote.
After analyzing data from Arizona’s 2000 general election, the Stanford researchers found that voters were more likely to support raising the state sales tax to support education if they voted in schools. This bias remained even when results were controlled for voters’ political views and demographics. In a follow-up laboratory study, subjects were asked to vote on a number of initiatives, including California’s 2004 stem-cell-research financing proposition. Before casting a vote, each subject was primed with a picture of a school, church or generic building. Voters were less likely to support stem-cell initiatives when presented with images of a church.
It’s a discomfiting insight: a person’s vote, a hallmark of democracy, may be biased by polling environment. Yet this has nothing to do with dirty politics or foul play. Rather, it’s a fairly basic principle of psychology — the idea that environmental cues can trigger ideas and affect our behavior without our being conscious of it. If you’re voting in a school, then the part of your brain that values kids and education might be activated, whereas if you vote inside a church, your ideas about spirituality might be invigorated. For some people, it seems, a change in location is enough to change a vote.

"Voting-Booth Feng Shui," by Adrienne Davich, New York Times Magazine (December 10, 2006).

6. From this day forward, please hold all Florida Judicial Nominating Commission  interviews and meetings in courthouses or other ADA accessible, neutral, government building.
7. Please send me copies of all the Supreme Court vacancy applications and recommendations.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998

at

No comments:

Post a Comment