by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Members of the Jacksonville legal community got a little politics with their breakfast Friday as they heard both political parties argue their sides on a variety of national legal issues.
A 13th-floor courtroom in the Federal Courthouse was an appropriate setting for the Middle District of Florida’s Congressional Breakfast and Reception. Members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle made their cases for tort reform, judicial appointments and pending changes to bankruptcy laws. The breakfast brings together representatives of the judicial and legislative branches to discuss areas of common interest.
The Jacksonville courtroom was video linked to courthouses across the Middle District, which spans Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa Bay. Sen. Mel Martinez, speaking from the George C. Young Federal Courthouse in Orlando, was the first to appear on screen. He endorsed the Class Action Fairness Act, a bill that recently passed with strong Republican backing. The legislation is designed to curb excessive awards in the cases by making it easier for them to be heard in federal courts.
Backers argue that the legislation will curb lawsuit abuse, but it will also likely increase the workload in federal courts, a fact that Martinez took note of.
“We just expanded the jurisdiction for class action cases, so you should be really happy about that,” said Martinez. The line drew some half-hearted laughs both on screen and inside the Jacksonville courtroom.
The key to dealing with an expanded docket, said Martinez, is speeding up congressional votes on judicial candidates nominated by President Bush. An ongoing filibuster by Senate Democrats has blocked votes on the nominees.
Martinez said he would work to get a vote and said he was receiving cooperation from Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
“I understand the need for more judges. I understand we need to confirm judges not just talk about it. The Middle District is facing a significant amount of judicial vacancies in the coming years,” he said.
Speaking from a Tampa courthouse inside his 11th District, Democratic Rep. Jim Davis rebutted some of Martinez’ comments. Davis only briefly mentioned the filibuster, but he said he had voted against the class action bill.
The reason, he said, was his awareness of the overwhelming workload already facing Florida’s federal courts.