Write The Constitution Revision Commission: Keep Florida's Courts Independent

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Subject: Dangerously close to law

Friends,

Florida’s judicial system was once a model for the nation. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.

That’s why Progress Florida, on behalf of the Florida Access to Justice Project, has officially submitted a series of proposed revisions to Florida’s Constitution. These suggested revisions deal with the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) process and are designed to help ensure a diverse state judiciary free from political and special interest influence.

Join me and email the CRC and encourage them to support our proposal to ensure a diverse state judiciary that is free from political and special interest influence: http://act.progressflorida.org/letter/courts-crc?source=taf

When JNCs were established in the 1970s they were supposed to act independently as a check on executive power but that has changed in recent years. But changes made to the JNCs under Jeb Bush politicized the process as candidates were increasingly subjected to a political litmus test. Gov. Rick Scott has rejected approximately 90 Florida Bar recommendations for JNCs, pushing them even closer to being a political arm of the Governor’s Office.

What’s more, Florida’s population is 22 percent Hispanic and 16 percent African-American. Yet among the state's judiciary, fewer than nine percent of judges are Hispanic, and fewer than seven percent are African-American. This proposed amendment will address this issue by ensuring that the race and gender composition of Florida’s courts more accurately reflects the communities they serve.

Thanks for your support.

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Florida’s judicial system was once a model for the nation. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.

That’s why Progress Florida, on behalf of the Florida Access to Justice Project, has officially submitted a series of proposed revisions to Florida’s Constitution. These suggested revisions deal with the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) process, particularly in reducing the all-too-powerful role of the governor, and are designed to help ensure a diverse state judiciary free from political and special interest influence. Our amendments would require:

Each JNC has three members appointed by the governor, but also three members appointed by the Florida Bar and three members of the JNC's area of jurisdiction (selected by the other six members.)

No more than five members of the JNC are from the same political party.

The governor and Florida Bar take diversity into account when making their selections, including ethnicity, race, disability, veteran status, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. They are also required to develop and publish surveys and data related to judicial diversity.

Finally, we forbid conflicts of interest among JNC members, including any "substantial personal or pecuniary interest."

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