Jim Rosica
Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry‘s last day as a “senior” justice will be Tuesday, according to a court order released Monday.
Chief Justice Jorge Labarga signed the latest order Jan. 11, modifying his previous order of Dec. 1.
Spokesman Craig Waters previously explained that the court’s “longstanding practice for many decades has been that retiring justices remain in senior status to complete their unfinished work after retirement.”
Perry, who joined the court in 2009, stepped down Dec. 30, having reached the mandatory retirement age. His name appeared on several opinions, including death penalty matters, released by the court since then.
“However, it is axiomatic that continued service is not without limit,” Labarga wrote.
“…At the time that the Dec. 1 order was entered, it was not known when a new justice would be appointed to replace him,” he wrote. “That issue now has been resolved.”
Gov. Rick Scott on Dec. 16 appointed conservative appellate judge C. Alan Lawson to replace Perry. Lawson had been chief judge of the state’s 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach.
Perry has since “expressed his desire that his senior service not be protracted for a lengthy period of time,” Labarga said.
The senior status recently piqued the ire of conservative blogger Ed Whelan, who opined on National Review Online that Perry’s continuing to work on pending cases was wrongly “displac(ing)” Lawson.
