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Court grills Aramis Ayala lawyer over avoidance of death penalty

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A dubious-sounding Florida Supreme Court shellacked Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala‘s lawyer during oral arguments Wednesday, questioning her prosecutorial “discretion” in not seeking the death penalty. “I don’t even see a gray area,” Justice R. Fred Lewis said. “It seems to me that ‘discretion’ is not to ignore Florida law.” Justice Barbara Pariente also raised concerns over “equal enforcement of the death penalty statute,” suggesting that Ayala created a legal oasis in which murderers will never face the ultimate punishment. Ayala, elected…

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Aramis Ayala files challenges of Rick Scott with Florida Supreme Court, federal court

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Arguing Gov. Rick Scott had no legal basis to strip murder cases from her jurisdiction, Orlando’s State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed challenges Tuesday morning in both the Florida Supreme Court and federal court. In complaints filed by her attorney, Roy Austin Jr. of Washington D.C., Ayala contends that she legally exercised prosecutorial discretion in deciding not to pursue death penalty prosecutions in the 9th Judicial Circuit. Ayala was not found by guilty of any misconduct. Consequently, Ayala argues that Scott’s executive…

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Aramis Ayala asks Pam Bondi to initiate challenge of Rick Scott’s murder case orders

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An attorney representing embattled Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala has initiated the process to challenge Gov. Rick Scott‘s murder case reassignment orders by asking State Attorney General Pam Bondi to petition the court on Ayala’s behalf. Ayala intends to challenge the legality of Scott’s now 23 and counting executive orders stripping 9th Judicial Circuit first-degree murder cases from Ayala’s jurisdiction and reassigning them to be prosecuted by 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brad King. The governor did so after Ayala announced she had…

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Rick Scott says decisions related to Aramis Ayala ‘nothing to do with politics’

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In Jacksonville Tuesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott discussed his ongoing war with State Attorney Aramis Ayala. In March, Scott took the Markeith Loyd murder case away from Ayala, due to her reluctance to pursue the death penalty for the cop killer. In April, Scott scored another pre-emptive strike: reassigning 21 first-degree murder cases that “represent a horrific loss of life.” “State Attorney Ayala’s complete refusal to consider capital punishment for the entirety of her term sends an unacceptable message that she is not interested in…

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Supreme Court candidate interviews will be live streamed

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The Florida Channel plans to live stream the interviews of candidates for an opening on the Florida Supreme Court. The interviews are open to the public, but they will be held in Orlando next Monday, instead of Tallahassee. They’ll be at the offices of the GrayRobinson law firm, where Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission chair Jason Unger is a shareholder. The commission previously voted to interview all 11 applicants for the vacancy on the court created by the December retirement of Justice James E.C.…

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Commission will interview all Supreme Court applicants

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The Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission on Monday voted to interview all 11 applicants for a vacancy on the court. The interviews, open to the public, will be held in Orlando Nov. 28, starting around noon and likely lasting through 7 p.m., said Jason Unger, the commission’s chair. The panel held a brief organizational conference call on Monday morning. The interviewees are: — Judge Wendy W. Berger of the 5th District Court of Appeal. — Circuit Judge Alice L. Blackwell of…

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11 apply for Florida Supreme Court

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As of the Friday deadline, 11 people had applied to become the next justice of the Florida Supreme Court.  The last application received was from Circuit Judge Michael Joseph Rudisill of the 18th Judicial Circuit for Brevard and Seminole counties. There, Rudisill replaced James E.C. Perry, now the justice whose December retirement is creating the Supreme Court vacancy. Besides Rudisill, here are the other applicants that will now be considered by the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission: — Judge Wendy W. Berger of the 5th District Court…

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