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23 Fla. B. News 1 (1996)

handle is hein.barjournals/flabn0023 and id is 1 raw text is: A Warm R~eption r ----N~ By Gary Blankenship Aqsociat Editor Rule changes to shorten Florida Bar president-elect campaigns, improve Bar- provided information about the candi- dates and cut the Bar's costs have come one step closer to adoption. The Bar Board of Governors unani- mously approved the changes in a straw poll December 8 during its New York City meeting. Bar President John De- Vault said he wanted to delay formal approval of the amendments until the board's January 25-26 meeting in Tal- lahassee to allow members to comment on the proposals. DeVault had ap- pointed a special commission, chaired by former Bar Presi- dent Ray Ferrero, Jr., of Ft. Lauder- dale, to look at ways to shorten cam- paigns and reduce costs for candidates. The Bar adopted rule changes in FERRERO 1992 with the same goal, but Ferrero said the commission felt more could be done. He said the commission talked to all candidates in contested races since those rules were adopted, as well as Bar staff. Without exception, all of the candi- dates felt that we would be doing a service if we could continue to compress the time in which the election takes place and provide additional services to the can- didates to reduce costs, Ferrero said. 'That is where we are headed. He said the commission proposed switching the start of electiGn filing from May 15 to November 15, and the filing deadline from June 15 to December 15. President-elect balloting would be moved from November to March, in conjunction with the Board of Governors elections, as it was done before 1992. Holding the elections simultaneously will save the Bar at least $40,000, Fer- rero reported. In addition, the commission proposed that the Bar News beef up coverage of candidates. That currently includes giv- ing candidates a half-page to make platform statements, publishing candi- dates' answers to a list of questions, and selling them ads at cost. We recommended to the Bar staff we have more hard news, Ferrero. said, in- cluding increasing the number of News NEW YORK MAYOR Rudolph Giuliani, left, welcomes Florida Bar members to a reception at the mayor's Gracie Mansion home December 7. Listening to His Honor, from the left, are is wife, Donna Hanover, mayoral friend and Miami attorney Jon Sale and Bar President John DeVault, who presented Giuliani with a resolution making him an honorary Florida Bar member. editions in which candidates answer questions. The changes would shorten the cam- paign from about six-and-a-half to three- and-a-half months, which should both re- duce the cost and the time candidates would have to spend away from their prac- tices, he said. The rules would also stipulate that no mailings or campaign activities could be- gin before November 15, and that the January 1 Bar News would carry a story introducing the candidates. Board member Scott Baena, who ran in the 1993 election, praised the changes. It is indeed a good idea, he said. I See Elections, page 4 January 1, 1996o Vol. 23, No. 1 ..n. Continuing Education Guide Hillsborough YLD President Debra Schrils displays teddy bears her group is selling to benefit foster chil- dren in the Tampa area. Young law- yers groups are again sponsoring Christmas in January for underprivi- leged kids statewide. o A fourth Board seat for out-of- staters is recommended. Page 4 o A new ad rule study may be in the offing. Page 5 o Florida Bar services will be the focus of the January 10 All Bar Conference. Page 6 o Appellate rule amendments have been sent to the Supreme Court. Page 12 o President DeVault has named a group to study JNC appoint- ments. Page 16 (a 12 minutes 9 3 Ujith the Eoavmd of tGovernorWS Members of The Florida Bar are invited to address the Board of Governors in Tallahassee on January 26 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 114 of the Bar's annex building. Please appear at least 10 minutes before the meeting to sign in. By Gary Blankenship Associate Editor Merit selection and retention should be extended to all trial judges, and circuit and county court judicial candidates should have 10 years of legal experience instead of the present five. Separate county and circuit courts should be maintained, but barriers to as- signing county judges to circuit duties should be eased. Also, the Judicial Qualifications Com- mission should be substantially re- vamped. Those are among the final recommen- dations adopted by the legislature's Article V Task Force w hen it held its final meeting December 18. The panel's report is planned to go to the legislature by January 1. An executive summary of that report is included in this News. At The Florida Bar Board of Gover- nors' December 8 meeting, President John DeVault said the Bar will be giving By Mary Smith Judd Assistant Editor Members of The Florida Bar may look back on 1995 as a year shaping the prac- tice of law into the 21st Century with major rule revisions, a legislatively man- dated study of the state constitution's justice system framework and challenges to the unified Bar. A legislative effort to put a constitu- tional amendment on the ballot transfer- ring lawyers regulation from the Su- preme Court to the legislature was defeated in the spring. But the debate over control of the prac- tice of law was not over. Opponents of the Bar ncxt suggested to the legislature expedited review to the proposals so the board can take a stand on the task force report. Recommendations: o State pays Art. V costs o Open up JNC deliberations o Merit selection for all judges o Increase county judges' terms and experience requirements Executive summary, page 14 DeVault said sections and committees will be asked to review the report during the January 11-14 Midyear Meeting and forward their comments to the board, which vill take up the report at its Janu- ary 26-27 meeting in Tallahassee. He said he will also discuss the propos- that it had the authority to control the budgets of the Bar, Bar Foundation and Board of Bar Examiners. President John A. DeVault commis- sioned a study by three constitutional lawyers-former chief justices Raymond Ehrlich and Alan Sundberg and former Fourth DCA Judge John Beranek-who said the organizations were not state agen- cies relying upon general revenue funds, a'nd thus were not subject to legislative control. DeVault said the study was thorough and well-reasoned, and should be persua- sive to the legislative committee looking See o euiowi, pago 7 1174~L~Y~lfQj L[~ /~~J als in a luncheon speech at the January 10 All Bar Conference. The task force has been meeting for more than a year and a half, including holding public hearings around the state. For the past several months, it has been hammering out its proposals to meet its legislative charge of reviewing the court system and the education, selection, train- ing and discipline of judges. The task force had earlier decided that it would make no final recommendation unless approved by a three-fifths of' the members at that meeting. Only one of more than a dozen proposals voted on at the meeting fell into the gray area of win- ning majority approval but failing to get See Task Force, page 13 AT2. V po rln9 (MONS fOff, changes 995 goveshadows changes gov Serf

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