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Six applications now in for state Supreme Court vacancy

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Appellate judge Wendy W. Berger and Circuit Judge Michelle T. Morley are the latest applicantsĀ for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court. That brings to six the number of those who have filed to replaceĀ JusticeĀ James E.C. Perry, who is retiring at the end of the year. The latest applications were confirmed by Jason Unger, chair of theĀ Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Berger, a Jacksonville native, was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the 5thĀ District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach…

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Federal prosecutor applies for state Supreme Court

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A federal prosecutor has become the fourth applicant for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court. Roberta J. Bodnar, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Florida, filed on Tuesday, according toĀ Jason Unger, chair of theĀ Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Bodnar, who works in Ocala, was admitted to the Florida bar in 1993, the same year she graduated from the University of Florida’s law school. The Middle District stretches from Fort MyersĀ north through Jacksonville.Ā A. Lee Bentley, III is…

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Martin Dyckman: Donald Trump pick Charles Canady could bring ‘dog whistles’ to SCOTUS

in 2017/Top Headlines by

What sort of Supreme Court justices would Donald Trump appoint? For an insight, consider the case of Kathy Johnson v. Omega Insurance Co., decided by the Florida Supreme Court Sept. 29. One of his prospective nominees was on the wrong side of that. The business model of an insurance company is to take as much of the policyholder’s money as possible and pay back as little as the law allows. To use a currently familiar phrase, its “fiduciary responsibility” is…

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Mitch Perry Report for 9.13.16 ā€” The Florida Supreme Court is about to get a little more conservative

in The Bay and the 'Burg by

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 fourthĀ 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…

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Supreme Court approves first of proposed solar amendments

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Floridians to generate and sell their own solar power passes legal muster, the stateĀ Supreme CourtĀ ruled Thursday. The court’s purview was limited to whether the languageĀ embraces one subject and uses “clear and unambiguous language” in the ballot summary. The majorityĀ said yes on both counts. JusticeĀ Ricky Polston, however, disagreed on the ballot summary portion, saying it was “confusing.” The decision clears the way for the amendment to go before voters in 2016, assuming it gets…

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The irony of how redistricting has resurrected Charlie Crist

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

While thinning files last week, I came across one labeled ā€œCristā€ and wondered whether to dump it. After successive losses for the U.S. Senate and for governor again, hadnā€™t Charlie reached the end of the line? No, I thought, something will happen to bring him back. The next day, something did. It was the Florida Supreme Courtā€™s dramatic decision to order major changes in eight of Floridaā€™s gerrymandered congressional districts. Among them are the 13th, lying exclusively within Pinellas County,…

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Session is over: Supreme Court rules against Senate Ds

in Top Headlines by

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…

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