from staff
Florida lawyers overwhelmingly recommended retaining one Florida Supreme Court justice and 23 district court of appeals judges in office, according to results of The Florida Bar’s biennial merit retention judicial poll announced recently.
“Once again, it is good to see that the attorneys who best know Florida’s appellate jurists give them high approval rankings,” said Florida Bar President John G. White III. “For 30 years, The Florida Bar has conducted this merit-retention poll and it is indeed a wonderful service for Florida’s voters.”
Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells will be on the ballot statewide Nov. 4 with voters being asked whether he should be retained for a six-year term. Twenty-three DCA 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.
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. Florida appeals court judges and Florida Supreme Court justices are on the ballot in these nonpartisan merit retention elections every six years. Their terms are staggered. In total, Florida has seven Supreme Court justices and 62 appeals court judges.
A secret ballot mailed in August to all lawyers residing and practicing in Florida asked respondents whether the incumbent justice and appeals court 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 62,779 ballots; a total of 4,132 lawyers participated. In all, the Bar has more than 84,000 members. Some live out of state; others are inactive.
For the Supreme Court, poll results indicate 91 percent support retaining Justice Wells
For the 1st District Court of Appeal , the results were:
• 86 percent support retaining Judge Robert Tyrie Benton
• 81 percent support retaining Judge Marguerite Davis
• 81 percent support retaining Judge Joseph Lewis
• 79 percent support retaining Judge Ricky L. Polston*
• 73 percent support retaining Judge L. Clayton Roberts
• 90 percent support retaining Judge William A. Van Nortwick
The 1st DCA includes 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.
For the 2nd District Court of Appeal, the results were:
• 94 percent support retaining Judge Chris W. Altenbernd
• 88 percent support retaining Judge Carolyn Fulmer
• 90 percent support retaining Judge Morris Silberman
• 87 percent support retaining Judge James W. Whatley
The 2nd DCA includes Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.
For the 3rd District Court of Appeal, the results were:
• 92 percent support retaining Judge Gerald B. Cope
• 87 percent support retaining Judge David M. Gersten
• 73 percent support retaining Judge Barbara Lagoa
• 79 percent support retaining Judge Juan Ramirez
• 88 percent support retaining Judge Vance E. Salter
The 3rd DCA includes Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
For the 4th District Court of Appeal, the results were:
• 90 percent support retaining Judge Mark E. Polen
• 88 percent support retaining Judge W. Matthew Stevenson
• 88 percent support retaining Judge Martha C. Warner
The 4th DCA includes the counties of Broward, Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Martin.
For the 5th District Court of Appeal, the results were:
• 89 percent support retaining Judge Kerry I. Evander
• 87 percent support retaining Judge C. Alan Lawson
• 89 percent support retaining Judge Richard B. Orfinger
• 85 percent support retaining Judge William D. Palmer
• 88 percent support retaining Judge Thomas D. Sawaya
The 5th DCA includes the counties of Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, St. Johns, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia.
If voters elect not to retain a judge, 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 commission.
(*The Florida Bar’s merit-retention poll was taken and results published before Gov. Charlie Crist tapped 1st DCA Judge Ricky L. Polston, whose name appears on the ballot, to be a Supreme Court justice.)