We think: Florida should return to a less political way of selecting judges
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Jan 5, 2009
The very words "judicial nominating commission" are enough to stop some readers dead in their tracks.
Booorrring.
But read on, because these commissions determine who is in the running to fill vacant judgeships in Florida, including the state Supreme Court.
And that's the court whose decisions included the Terri Schiavo case and the disputed 2000 presidential election.
Floridians ought to care about who makes those decisions, and about how politicized that process has become since 2001.
The job of the commission is to present Florida's governor with nominations.
From that list, the governor makes a selection, and the judges remain on the bench as long as voters retain them in what amounts to yes-no votes.
Back in 2001, the nine-member commissions consisted of three people appointed by the governor and three by the Florida Bar. Those six would then select the remaining three. The intent was to dilute political influence, and it worked fairly well. Until 2001, that is.
That's when the Florida Legislature decided to stack the judicial deck by letting the governor not only make the final pick, but also decide who makes the nominations.
The problems with this system took on a sharper focus recently when Gov. Charlie Crist, though lacking the authority, rejected a list of nominations for lacking diversity. And what do you know? The nominating commission gave him a new list that included a nominee who was politically connected and politically correct.
Two former politicians with impeccable credentials -- Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte and Bob Graham -- have suggested that Mr. Crist could return to the original way of selecting nominating commission members through an executive order.
Mr. Crist should heed their advice.