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James E.C. Perry

Supreme Court tweaks its ‘senior justice’ rule after controversy

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The Florida Supreme Court no longer will allow its justices to keep working indefinitely on open cases after they leave the bench, according to a new rule released Thursday. After Justice James E.C. Perry officially retired on Dec. 30, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga allowed him to finish work on opinions as a “senior justice,” following decades of court practice. But critics, including Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran, cried foul. They complained Perry was displacing his successor, C. Alan Lawson, who started work the next…

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Jorge Labarga answers critics about James E.C. Perry’s ‘senior’ service

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Florida’s chief justice Friday publicly defended his decision to allow Justice James E.C. Perry to continue working on cases after his retirement. On Dec. 1, Jorge Labarga assigned Perry “senior” status for a period after his mandatory Dec. 30 retirement. News since surfaced that the Florida House of Representatives, led by Republican Speaker Richard Corcoran, was preparing a legal challenge to Perry’s continued work, saying, among other things, Perry was an unconstitutional “eighth” justice on the seven-member court. “It’s in the constitution,” Labarga told reporters,…

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Supreme Court: Attorneys can collect fees for claim bill work

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The Legislature can’t limit the amount of attorney fees to be paid out of money it OKs for a claim bill, a narrowly divided Florida Supreme Court decided. The 4-3 opinion was one of nine in an unusual out-of-calendar release from the court this Tuesday. The Supreme Court normally releases opinions 11 a.m. on Thursdays. Senior Justice James E.C. Perry and Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy A. Quince were in the majority. Justices Charles Canady, Ricky Polston…

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James E.C. Perry’s “senior service” on Supreme Court to end

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Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry‘s last day as a “senior” justice will be Tuesday, according to a court order released Monday. Chief Justice Jorge Labarga signed the latest order Jan. 11, modifying his previous order of Dec. 1. Spokesman Craig Waters previously explained that the court’s “longstanding practice for many decades has been that retiring justices remain in senior status to complete their unfinished work after retirement.” , who joined the court in 2009, stepped down Dec. 30, having reached the mandatory retirement age.…

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Blogger still irate over Justice James E.C. Perry’s continued presence at Supreme Court

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Conservative blogger Ed Whelan isn’t giving up his position that retired Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry continuing to work on pending cases “appears to be in plain violation of Florida law.” Whelan wrote on National Review Online last week that Perry was wrongly “displac(ing)” Justice C. Alan Lawson, the newest conservative jurist on the state’s high court. In the court’s defense, spokesman Craig Waters explained that the court’s “longstanding practice for many decades has been that retiring justices remain in senior status to…

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Mitch Perry Report for 1.3.17 – Remembering Justice Perry’s words

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With Republicans in control of all branches of state government for what is approaching nearly two decades, one check on their levers of power has been the Florida Supreme Court, which has at times has served as a safeguard to what some would call the Legislature’s worst excesses, such as redistricting and the death penalty. Until last month, Gov. Rick Scott hadn’t been able to do a damn thing about the state’s highest court, but that changed when Justice James E.C. Perry was required to step…

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Closing statement: Florida Supreme Court justice steps down

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Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry has reached his final day in office. Perry is stepping down Friday because he reached the mandatory retirement age for justices. Perry was appointed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist to the court in 2009. He was the fourth black justice appointed to the court. During his tenure, he was part of a group of justices that has issued rulings that angered the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. Perry last week issued a…

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