The Florida Supreme Court has asked Gov. Rick Scott to respond to a lawsuit claiming he doesn’t have authority to appoint three new justices on the last day of his term.
The court on Friday gave Scott till July 5 to file a response, with theĀ League of Women Voters of FloridaĀ (LWVF) and Common CauseĀ having a July 17 deadline to reply to Scott’s filing.
The organizations this week filed a petition for āwrit of quo warranto,ā a court action against government officials to demand they prove their authority to perform a certain action.
Scott, a Naples Republican, has said he plans to name the replacements forĀ the courtās liberal-leaning trioĀ of Justices R. Fred Lewis,Ā Barbara Pariente andĀ Peggy A. Quince.
They face mandatory retirement on the same dayāJan. 8, 2019āthat is Scott’s last in office as governor. He’s term limited next year.
The filingĀ saysĀ Scott canāt replace those justices because heāll be out of office earlier on the same day all three retire, and their terms last till midnight.
The Supreme Court, in a 2006 advisory opinion, said appellate vacancies may be filled by aĀ governor only āupon the expiration of the term of the judge or justice.ā
Advisory opinions, however,Ā “do not constitute binding precedent, though they can be persuasive,” wrote former Justice Gerald Kogan and court spokesman Craig Waters in a 1994 law review article. “They are authorized by the (state) constitution to deal with situations in which the Court’s opinion on an abstract question can advance public interests.”
A Scott spokesman previously declined comment on the suit.
āA prompt, final decision on this pure question of constitutional law ā¦ would preempt cynical complaints by anyone dissatisfied with the decision that the case was contaminated by political considerations,ā the petition says.
The petitionersĀ also include LWVF President Pamela Goodman, formerĀ LWVF presidentĀ Deirdre Macnab, andĀ Liza McClenaghan, the state chair of Common Cause Florida.
Theyāre represented by Tallahassee attorneys John S. Mills andĀ Thomas D. Hall, a former Clerk of the Florida Supreme Court.
