from staff
Florida voters face many choices when they go to the polls tomorrow. A recent poll on merit retention for three Florida Supreme Court justices and 17 appellate judges indicates Florida judges are doing a god job. According to results of The Florida Bar’s biennial merit retention judicial poll, those who know the work of the jurists best – Florida’s attorneys – overwhelmingly recommend keeping them on the bench.
“I am pleased to see that those most familiar with the qualifications of these jurists give them high marks,” said Florida Bar President Hank Coxe.
Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis and Justices Barbara J. Pariente and Peggy A. Quince will be on the ballot statewide with voters being asked whether they should be retained or not for six-year terms. The 17 District Courts of Appeal judges will appear on ballots in the counties over which their courts have jurisdiction with voters likewise being asked if they should be retained for six-year-terms.
A secret ballot mailed in August to all lawyers residing and practicing in Florida asked respondents whether the incumbent justices and judges should be retained or not and asked that they consider eight attributes in their ratings. Those attributes are quality and clarity of judicial opinions; knowledge of the law; integrity; judicial temperament; impartiality; freedom from bias/prejudice; demeanor; and courtesy.
Only lawyers indicating at least limited knowledge or greater of the judges were included in the poll results. The Bar sent out 58,682 ballots; a total of 4,779 lawyers participated. In all, the Bar has 79,363 members. Some live out of state; others are inactive.
With the election tomorrow, The Florida Bar is re-releasing poll results as well as frequently asked questions about merit retention.
For the Supreme Court, poll results indicate:
• 89 percent support retaining Chief Justice Lewis
• 84 percent favor retaining Justice Pariente
• 83 percent support retaining Justice Quince
For the First District Court of Appeal, the results were:
• 90 percent favor retaining Judge Edwin B. Browning Jr.
• 75 percent support retaining Judge Bradford L. Thomas
• 88 percent support retaining Judge Peter D. Webster
The 1st DCA covers the counties of Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Nassau, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.
Since the first merit retention election in 1978, The Florida Bar has published results of its polls as a public service. In merit retention elections, the justices and judges run unopposed – with voters casting ballots to “retain” or “not retain” judges in office. If the judge is not retained, a vacancy is created and will be filled through the merit selection process through which the governor will appoint one of three to six nominees submitted by the respective Judicial Nominating Commissions.