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19 Fla. B. News 1 (1992)

handle is hein.barjournals/flabn0019 and id is 1 raw text is: January 1, 1992 Vol. 19, No. 1 Mermt selection winas its way tmhrough the Senate By Gary Blankenship Associate Editor Electingjudges from smaller than coun- tywide and circuitwide districts would give minorities a better chance of reach- ing the bench, according to a Jacksonville attorney. But going to merit Pelection and reten- tion for all trial judges would remove campaign pressures from judicial races, help more minorities become judges, and give a better quality judge, countered Bar President Ben Hill and representatives of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters. Those are some of the divergent views at a December 11 hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee on litigation over judicial elections and proposed con- stitutional amendments extending merit selection and retention to all trial judges. Committee Chair Sen. Peter Weinstein, D-Tamarac, announced the committee would take up all proposed merit selec- tion and retention legislation at its first January meeting. The December 11hearing came one day before a second challenge-involving Duval County and the Fourth Circuit-to Florida's at-large judicial elections went to trial in a Jacksonville federal district. court. The first case involving Leon By Gary Blankenship Associate Editor The Florida court system lost $2.6 mil- lion, state attorneys $4.6 million, and public defenders $2.5 million in the lat- est round of state budget cuts. Legal ad- ministrators say they can bear the cuts, but that they are stretched to the limit.' The reductions were made by the leg- islature in a special session that ended December 13 and were considerably to slightly less that earlier cuts proposed by Gov. Lawton Chiles. Chiles had initially proposed an $8.4 million cut for the courts, then reduced that to $5.3 million. State attorneys were originally proposed for $8.3 million and then $5.2 million, while public defenders went from $4.7 to $2.9 million in Chiles' plans. The Chiles budget went out the win- dow when the Supreme Court ruled in October that only the legislature could cut the budget. That set up the special session. We'll bi able to get by with it without any marked impact on cases, except with the loss of retired judges said State Courts Administrator Ken Palmer of the latest round of cuts. Ad pamphlet inside Included as an insert in this issue is a pamphlet discussing the new attor- ney advertising rules. The pamphlet has been prepared by the Standing Com- mittee on Advertising and answers many commonly asked questions about the rules. The pamphlet is not all inclu- sive, and it is not intended to suggest that certain types of information not mentioned are impermissible. The Standing Committee is in the process of developing a handbook on advertising for the guidance of the mem- bers, and it is anticipated that the hand- book will be ready for dissemination this summer. The Standing Committee on Adver- tising would encourage members to re- view the enclosed pamphlet. The com- mittee would also encourage you to con- tact the staff of the Bar's Lawyer Advertising Department at (904)561- 5780 for assistance. County and the Second Circuit finished. trial the week before. Sen. Arnett Girardeau, D-Jacksonville, and A. Wellington Barlow of Jacksonville, representing the D.W. Perkins Bar Asso- ciation and the Florida Chapter of the National Bar. Association, argued the state should use either subdistricts or sin- gle member judicial districts and not end trial judge elections by going to merit selection and retention. As long as you have at-large voting, you're going to put black minorities at a disadvantage:' Girardeau said. It means we must make every effort we can to strengthen the voting power of minorities because it's only then they can elect can- didates of their choice. I don't think you need a quota process, but I think until the system is open and fair we shouldn't go to the retention proc- ess. Barlow said no black has ever won a Fourth Circuit-wide or Duval County- wide judicial election, and only three of the 42 county and circuit judges in the Fourth Circuit are black. All three were appointed.'* The result, he added, is whites can reach the bench through either election or merit appointment to a mid-term va- cancy, but blacks can only become trial judges through appointment. Going The court system gave up about $1 million it had saved in its jury funds through better management, and saw the appropriation for retired judges cut by about $415,000, Palmer said. He hopes to transfer leftover funds in other ac- counts to make up for some of the lost retired judge funding. The reduction of retired judges might mean delays in civil cases in some cir- cuits, Palmer warned, but sho,,ld not re- sult in any major disruptions. He also said the Supreme Court lost seven vacant positions. Even after the cuts, the budget picture remains bleak, Palmer said. There's been talk of a further $100 to $150 million cut necessary before the budget year ends June 30, and of a tight 1992-93 budget. But the courts will have trouble just sustaining these cuts, he said, because the recent reductions used one-time-only available funds. 'We've basically tapped out everything we can, Palmer said. I think it's rea- sonable to assume unless they [lawmak- ers] focus in on some of these sales tax exemptions and eliminate them... we're faced with the same type of problem next year. (Please see Budget, page 3) strictly to merit appointments makes mi- nority access dependent on a governor's philosophy about appointments. Barlow said Gov. Lawton Chiles has done an excellent job appointing minori- ties to serve on judicial nominating com- missions and the bench, but that could change. I don't know who is going to be the next governor and I don't know what his position is going to be on [minority] rep- resentation on [JNC's and the bench]:' Barlow argued. We think we're entitled to more qualified judges on the bench than the three we have.... The bottom line is African Americans have been pre-' cluded from electing candidates of their choice:' Sen. Richard Langley, R-Clermont, ques- tioned whether blacks were underrepre- sented in the Fourth Circuit. Qualified black attorneys, he noted, make up less than four percent of the Duval area bar, yet have more than seven percent of the judicial seats. That means blacks are more than twice as likely to become judges as white, Langley said. But Girardeau and Barlow argued the small pool of potential black judges was irrelevant and caused by past discrimi- nation in not allowing blacks into law school. Barlow predicted the plaintiffs would prevail in both the voting cases. Disagreeing with that were Assistant Attorney General George Waas and state Special Counsel Mitchell Frank, two of the four attorneys defending the state in those cases. Waas and Frank told the (Please see Merit, page 4) Chiles favors merit selection Saying it would create a more fair and qualified judiciary, Gov. Lawton Chiles wholeheartedly endorsed a merit selec- tion and retention plan at a December 9 Tallahassee press conference with Bar and legislative leaders. The same day, a merit amendment to Article V of the Florida Constitution cleared the House Committee on the Ju- diciary and is now set to be one of the first bil!s heard when the regular session opens January 14. HJR 23, sponsored by Rep. John Cos- grove, D-Miami, calls for a constitutional amendment to giVe trial judges the same merit selection system appellate jurists have. The bill contains an opt-in clause that provides merit selection will not be used in a circuit unless voters approve. Chiles said he would prefer to see merit selection statawide, a position also sup- ported by the Bar. The merit selection and retention sys- tem we are endorsing ensures that Flor- ida judges at the county and circuit level get to the bench on their merits alone and not from a popularity contest where the winner is the person with the largest campaign war chest:' Chiles said. The governor said something is amiss when 80 percent of judicial contributions come from lawyers who have cases pending be- fore the same judges. It is evident that judicial elections are simply not providing our citizens with the best judicial talent:' Chiles added, saying the beauty of merit retention is the public can still periodically vote judges up or down. Bar President Ben Hill said while merit selection and retention is not a perfect system, it will ensure a more qualified, impartial, and independent judiciary. If this gets to the people, they will have an opportunity and indeed will de- cide that judges exist to serve the law Freedom-Northern District Chief Judge William Stafford (left) helps unveil a bronze plaque commemorating the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights following now-citizen swearing in ceremonies in Tallahassee last month. See story on page 9. Gov. Chiles announces positions as President Ben Hill and Justice Ben Overton look on. and not be representatives:' Hill said. Chiles said equal rights for all begins with a court system that reflects the state's diverse population. He said recent changes in the make-up of the state's ju- dicial nominating commissions will help. Merit selection legislation has been pro- posed for the past 17 years, Cosgrove said, which should negate charges that it's be- ing pushed because of civil rights chal- lenges seeking judicial subdistricts. Cosgrove said his bill offsets minority concerns by requiring that JNCs estab- lish uniform guidelines approved by the Supreme Court to ensure that each level of the court system be broadly reflective of the general public which it serves:' - Mark Killian Courts take $26tiaion worth, of budget.-cutbacks.. Dan T miss Midyear January S- 11 I-Aisay COMFiTWOO hfbrms duo soon

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