Volunteer on Election Day!

Justices Quince, Pariente, and Lewis need your help on election day, according to the DCBA:

As you know, Justice R. Fred Lewis, Justice Barbara Pariente and Justice Peggy Quince are asking Floridians to vote "yes" in this election to retain them on the Florida Supreme Court. While the DCBA does not take any position on ballot issues, many of our members have asked us how they can support the three Justices in this crucial election.

The campaigns are looking for at least two volunteers per shift to pass out literature at early voting locations and on election day. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the following coordinators today:

Nadean Stone (305) 374-6366 nadean@ratzanlawgroup.com  

Anna Quintana (305) 371-3666 aquinta@fdlaw.net

Ana Gomez (305) 371-3111 agomez@goldfarbpa.com

In other news, Palm Beach County Judge Barry M. Cohen is in trouble for speaking his mind about our drug laws:

The Judicial Qualifications Commission panel filed formal charges with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging that Judge Barry M. Cohen has abused his position by using it as a "bully pulpit" and undermined his impartiality through his comments. The panel cited Cohen's comments from the bench, in written orders and at public forums.

Cohen has been accused of saying, among other things, that minorities are disproportionally arrested and jailed for drug trafficking, law enforcement officers may be motivated by the race or status of suspects and blacks do not feel free to exercise their constitutional rights in the county.

The judge's lawyers linked the allegations against Cohen to recent attacks on the judiciary they say are threatening its independence.

"Judge Cohen will vigorously defend himself against allegations which infringe on the ability of judges to perform their duties in an independent manner," wrote attorneys Scott Richardson and Donnie Murrell.

They added that Cohen is confident a full airing of the allegations "will demonstrate he has performed his duties ethically and honorably."

Ok, what the Judge said seems pretty accurate to me -- is truth a defense?

Finally, in more election-related news, I see Gerry Richman is going after the Palm Beach County GOP chair for what he calls a "frivolous" lawsuit against commission candidate David Levy:

Attorney Gerald F. Richman, who represented Levy in the case, called the suit “frivolous,” and said that Levy has asked a judge to force Dinerstein to pay his attorney’s fees. He pointed to a state law that allows defendants to recoup their fees if a judge finds that a lawsuit is not “supported by the material facts.”

Richman had argued that Levy was not required to get his financial disclosure form notarized.

“The point of all of this is, this is absolute evidence that the lawsuit was frivolous,” Richman said. “It basically shows to me that this was a political ploy to cause David Levy to undergo expenses. I would call it an act of desperation on the part of the party.”

Circuit Judge Catherine Brunson last week denied Dinerstein’s request for an injunction to block Levy from the ballot. Dinerstein sued Levy and Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher last month, alleging that the disclosure form, filed in June, was not stamped by a notary. Notary Marilyn Jacobs signed and dated the form but did not put her seal on it.

Dodger Arp, Dinerstein’s attorney, said the suit was legitimate.

“We don’t have a frivolous lawsuit,” Arp said. “My clients decided that they have had their day in court, we decided to drop it. The court has spoken and we respect that.”

Dodger Arp -- is that a real name?

Ok I checked, yes it is, a former Marine to boot.

SHOCKER Federalist Society Report: Embattled FL Supreme Court Justices Are Principled!

I'm more of an ACS kind of guy, but I do have to give the Federalist Society props for their own integrity in knocking down this ludicrous campaign to remove Justices Quince, Lewis, and Pariente:

A Florida professor commissioned by the conservative Federalist Society to review controversial cases of the three Florida Supreme Court justices up for merit retention concluded Wednesday that some of the most loaded charges used by opponents against the justices are unfounded.  Download Federalist Society

“There does not appear to be a pattern of unprincipled decision-making by any of the justices of the Florida Supreme Court,’’ wrote Florida International University law professor Elizabeth Price Foley after analyzing nine controversial cases since 2000. “There are disagreements, true. But disagreements do not suggest that those with whom you disagree are unprincipled.”

Although the Federalist Society does not take a position in the merit retention races, Foley said in a conference call with reporters that her review found that the controversial rulings “are in fact supported by some prior precedent and they do involve acceptable methods of legal reasoning.”  Opponents who want to accuse them of judicial activism, she said, are “going to have a hard time making that label stick.’’

Oh don't be so sure, Professor -- since when have facts stopped the Koch brothers?

PS --  The endorsements keep rolling in:

Show Your Support Tonight for Justices Quince, Pariente, and Lewis!

Sorry to keep beating the drum about this issue, but when you read a report like this from the NYT it just ticks you off:

“I think it’s a mistake for a party, as a party, to state a position that a certain judge should be thrown out, because then you are introducing partisanship into a system that is supposed to be nonpartisan,” said Bob Martinez, a prominent Republican lawyer who was once the United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “And when you have elected officials, on the right or left, criticizing judges publicly it can become very dangerous and it can undermine the public’s faith in the judiciary.”

Democrats say the campaign is really about giving Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, the chance to appoint three new justices. The Florida Legislature also wants greater control of the judiciary — an effort that began last year with House Speaker Dean Cannon and is continuing with a proposed amendment on the ballot this year.

“All of this is an attempt to hijack the court,” said Dick Batchelor, a Democrat and former State House member who is working with Defend Justice From Politics, one of several counteroffensives. 

“This is all about raw politics. It has nothing to do with jurisprudence.”

Americans for Prosperity, an organization founded by the Koch brothers, recently joined in the battle and began broadcasting television advertisements in several cities highlighting the health care amendment ruling. The group also plans to highlight other cases. 

Tell the Koch brothers to take their toilet paper money elsewhere and leave our courts alone.

The big event is tonight from 5:30 to 7:00 at the downtown Intercontinental Miami, or you can contribute online: 

www.VoteYesJusticeLewis.com

www.VoteYesJusticePariente.com

www.VoteYesJusticeQuince.com

Did You Know a Few Billionaires Want to Rejigger the Florida Supreme Court?

 If you're in the legal biz it's impossible to not be aware of the Koch brothers' campaign to unseat Justices Lewis, Pariente, and Quince. 

But there's also this bugaboo up for a vote in November:

The GOP-led Florida Legislature also put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot that experts say would politicize the Florida Supreme Court.

Amendment 5 would change the Florida Constitution to say that the Florida Senate has to confirm state Supreme Court nominees. If passed, it would also allow the Florida Legislature to repeal any court decision with only a majority, which is 50 percent plus one. Right now, the legislature needs a supermajority.

Oy veh, do you think Florida would have integrated the public school system if the Legislature could have repealed that ruling with a 50 percent plus one vote?

A few newspapers have also weighed in:

"The three Supreme Court justices up for review are under attack by a conservative political action committee which declines requests for interviews...
That is the kind of politics that merit retention was designed to keep away.
For that reason, we strongly recommend voting "yes'' to retain Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince — all of whom passed muster in a Florida Bar poll with approval ratings of at least 89 percent."

– Naples Daily News, 9/26/12

"The three Florida justices are certainly competent. A poll of Florida Bar members showed that 92 percent supported retaining Mr. Lewis, 89 percent Ms. Pariente and 90 percent Ms. Quince. And there’s no question of ethical impropriety.
Rather, it’s pure politics.
Let’s hope voters understand what’s at stake here. Let’s hope they vote to retain the three Supreme Court justices.”

– Tallahassee Democrat, 09/25/12

Where did all the Jeb Bush Republicans go?

(I'm excluding Raoul Cantero's leadership on this issue -- major props to the guy for taking this on!)

Retain Justices Lewis, Pariente and Quince!

It's bad enough Rick Scott and the Florida GOP ended voting on Sundays, thereby disenfranchising African-Americans who typically travel by bus after church to go vote (as Chris Matthews pointed out last week), but now they want to dump three sitting Florida Supreme Court Justices:

"The announcement that the Republican Party is engaged in this effort would shock those wonderful Republican statesmen who helped create the merit selection and merit retention processes," said Tallahassee attorney Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, a former president of the American Bar Association. "Surely we do not want to go back to the broken past."

The GOP decision set the Twitter world abuzz on both sides, with people and organizations chiming in from across the United States. Rachel Sutz Pienta, a Virginia State University professor, wrote, "Boo, hiss!"

"It doesn't matter what party you belong to, politics has no place in the courts. This is a power grab that hurts everyone," tweeted plaintiffs attorney Mariano Garcia of Searcy, Denney, Scarola Barnhart & Shipley in West Palm Beach.

Dale Davis, a Melbourne conservative, tweeted, "Do not retain Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis per the RPOF!"

(Ok, enough with newspapers reporting what people tweet.  That's like listening to someone watch a movie.)

I understand some good folks are organizing a fundraiser downtown to support the embattled Justices on October 9th (more details to follow) or you can contribute online to their retention campaigns here, here, and here.

And if you are an attorney and belong to the Florida GOP please consider the leadership of Raoul Cantero on this issue and speak out against this truly unfortunate turn in Florida judicial politics.

Speaking of Florida judicial politics, did you know failed judicial candidate Enrique "Rick" Yabor hired this woman to run his campaign:

In January 2007, she was arrested in a dispute with her ex-husband, Moshe Cosicher, at his Tigertail Ave. home in Coconut Grove. They had been divorced for two years, but Alliegro wanted to get remarried, according to reports from Miami police and prosecutors.

“We are going to Vegas,” she told Cosicher, a report said. The report noted that when Cosicher refused, she grabbed a gun, which appeared to be a .45 that she kept at bed side.

She then sat naked at a desk with her leg up and compared the gun to a male sexual organ.

“If you think your [expletive] is powerful (showing the gun), this is mine,” Alliegro told Cosicher, who tried to ignore her by going to make coffee, a report said. Alliegro followed him and told him to sit on the couch.

She fired a round into the ceiling.

“You see. It’s loaded — this is business,” Alliegro allegedly said.

Am I the only one slightly turned on by this?

Oy veh, better get to Temple before the book closes -- have a easy fast!

FSC Issues Important First-Party Bad Faith Decision!

The Supreme Rulers of Tally have issued a very interesting opinion on bad faith actions in the first-party insurance context, with a lengthy and well-written history of the doctrine and its development in Florida.

The Court finds that there is no independent cause of action for breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing outside the statutory framework:

Specifically, we conclude that under Florida law (1) first-party claims are actually statutory bad-faith claims that must be brought under section 624.155 of the Florida Statutes; (2) an insured cannot bring a claim against an insurer for failure to comply with the language and type-size requirements established by section 627.701(4)(a) of the Florida Statutes; (3) an insurer‟s failure to comply with the language and type-size requirements established in section 627.701(4)(a) does not render a noncompliant hurricane deductible provision in an insurance policy void and unenforceable as the Legislature has not provided for this penalty; and (4) a contractual provision mandating payment of benefits upon “entry of a final judgment” does not waive the insurer‟s procedural right to post a bond and stay the execution of a money judgment pending resolution of appeal.

Congrats Raoul!

Relive The Good Old Days At FAWL Judicial Reception

Remember the good old days of the Bush/Gore recount, when ill-informed, disingenuous hacks loudly denounced our own little Florida Supreme Court as a hotbed of liberal judicial activism?

Oh, what fun times we had back then, mispronouncing the names of Justices, confusing live judges with dead ones, all on a huge national stage where only the nation's future was at stake!

Well I for one plan to relive those happier times tonight at the FAWL cocktail reception honoring Chief Justice Quince.

Look for me cracking wise and acting foolish, camera-ready and dry Gin Gibson-equipped, summoning the energy to swap war stories head-on with my buddy Lew Freeman.

Wish me luck!