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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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Larry Metz applies for Florida Supreme Court opening

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Republican state Rep. Larry Metz of Yalaha, who face term limits after his current stint in the House, wants to be the next Florida Supreme Court justice. Metz filed Friday morning, the deadline day for applying, said Jason Unger, chair of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. The opening was created by the retirement of Justice James E.C. Perry, who’s leaving the bench at the end of the year. The commission is scheduled to discuss the applicants in a conference call next Monday at…

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Latest on the legislative staffing merry-go-round

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With a tip of the hat to LobbyTools, here are the latest movements — both on and off — of the legislative merry-go-round. Off: Mary Kassabaum is no longer legislative assistant for Trilby Republican state Sen. Wilton Simpson. Off: Caroline Crow is no longer district secretary for Rockledge Republican state Sen. Thad Altman. On: Matthew Hunter is returning as legislative assistant for Fort Myers Republican state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto. Off: Sean Nixon is no longer legislative assistant for Cutler Bay Democratic state Sen. Dwight Bullard. Off: Kyle Langan is no longer…

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Expert witness standard takes center stage at Florida Supreme Court

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The Florida Bar squared off Thursday against a coalition of corporate and criminal defense lawyers over a change to the state’s expert witness standard. The Florida Supreme Court heard more than an hour of argument on whether to adopt a change to evidence law that lawmakers passed in 2013. The Bar is against it; defense counsel supports it. The switch would align Florida’s courts with the federal system. The federal courts now follow a stricter standard of allowing certain scientific…

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Florida Chamber endorses legislative Republicans

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The Florida Chamber of Commerce lent their substantial clout to four statehouse Republicans on Monday. Groveland Rep. Larry Metz, Auburndale Rep. Neil Combee, Maitland Rep. Bob Cortes, and Saint Cloud Rep. Mike De La Rosa were among those who got the nod from the pro-business interest group. The lawmakers all received “A” grades from the Chamber’s annual legislative report card, which assigns members marks based on their votes on the group’s priorities, which according to their criteria aim to make “Florida more competitive through private-sector job…

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