The Florida Supreme Court said Friday it will hear arguments this fall in a case that could help shape the future of the court. The Supreme Court scheduled arguments for Nov. 1 in a battle about whether Gov. Rick Scott will have the authority to appoint as many as three new justices as he leaves office in January 2019.
Unsurprisingly, Democratic candidates for governor say the power to appoint state Supreme Court justices in 2019 lies with whoever wins next November, while Republican candidates are divided on the issue. Progressive groups are now battling Gov. Rick Scott in court over his authority to replace the three liberal-leaning justices—R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy A. Quince—who will be retiring in early 2019.
In a case stemming from the 1976 strangulation of a 13-year-old girl, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected arguments that a Death Row inmate should receive a new sentencing hearing. The arguments by attorneys for inmate James Ernest Hitchcock were rooted in a major 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling and subsequent Florida decisions that have led to requiring unanimous jury recommendations before defendants can be sentenced to death.
In one of his first public statements since he announced his candidacy last month, Democratic Attorney General candidate Ryan Torrens says he’s strongly opposed to Rick Scott’s attempt to replace three members of the Florida Supreme Court on his last day of office in 2019. “In 2014, Florida voters had an opportunity to approve a constitutional amendment which would have permitted this practice and our voters rejected it,” Torrens said. “Governor Scott needs to respect the wishes of Florida voters and permit our…
During the 2014 gubernatorial race, selecting Supreme Court justices was a campaign issue between Rick Scott and Charlie Crist. Though Florida’s executive and legislative branches have been fiercely conservative for going on nearly two decades now, the judiciary has not, though that slowly could be changing. On Monday, Justice James E.C. Perry, the fourth black ever named to Florida’s high court, announced he will be retire from the bench at the end of this year as required by law, giving Scott…
Any law that invades the privacy and liberties of American citizens should come into court facing a heavy burden of proof. Does it serve a compelling public interest? Is it the most reasonable — that is, the least restrictive — approach? That’s doubly true in Florida, whose state constitution contains an explicit right to privacy. That’s why the Florida Supreme Court did the right thing last week to put a hold on the Legislature’s latest mean-spirited and colossally hypocritical attack…
The Supreme Court of Florida on Friday refused to grant a writ of mandamus to Senate Democrats who were seeking to compel the Florida House to return to Tallahassee to finish the 2015 regular legislative session. But five of the seven justices opined that the House’s actions violated the state Constitution as the Democrats argued. In a unanimous ruling, the court denied the write of mandamus because Democrats failed to show that the issuance of the writ of mandamus “would…
