Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaDecember 14, 2017

Saying the issue wasn’t ready for judicial review, the state’s highest court Thursday dismissed a challenge to Gov. Rick Scott‘s power to appoint three new justices on his last day in office in 2019. In a 6-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court said it couldn’t step into the controversy because the governor hasn’t taken any […]

Peter SchorschDecember 5, 2017

Florida takes the top spot among the states in more than a few lists, but it earned a “distinction” from the American Tort Reform Association which said the Sunshine State was the No. 1 “Judicial Hellhole” in the country. Florida was one of eight states or judicial districts getting a write up in 2017-2018 Judicial […]

Jim RosicaNovember 29, 2017

The “hot mic” has gone cold. In a one-sentence order, the Florida Supreme Court denied Gov. Rick Scott’s request to disqualify Justice Barbara Pariente from a pending case over his judicial appointment power. “The respondent’s motion to disqualify Justice Pariente is hereby denied,” it said, without elaboration. Scott “expects all judges to be fair and impartial,” […]

Jim RosicaNovember 28, 2017

“There is no there there” in Gov. Rick Scott‘s complaint that Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente is biased against him, say the plaintiffs in a case over his judicial appointment power. The League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida responded Tuesday to Scott’s motion for disqualification against Pariente. It was filed earlier this month by […]

Jim RosicaNovember 20, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott is moving to remove Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente from a legal challenge to his judicial appointment power, saying she’s biased against him. Daniel Nordby, Scott’s general counsel, filed a motion for disqualification Monday. Scott’s decision follows Pariente “making disparaging remarks after the conclusion of the oral argument in this case on […]

Jim RosicaNovember 14, 2017

A conservative watchdog says it’s filed a public records request for emails from Justice Barbara Pariente and Chief Justice Jorge Labarga after what it calls “the justices’ overt political bias.” The D.C.-based Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) late Monday released a copy of its request to the Florida Supreme Court. It asks for copies of […]

Jim RosicaNovember 7, 2017

An attorney for Gov. Rick Scott has filed a public records request with the state Supreme Court over last week’s ambiguous “hot mic” conversation between Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and Justice Barbara Pariente. But Scott stopped short Tuesday of saying whether he will ask the two justices to recuse themselves from further involvement in a case over […]

Jim RosicaOctober 27, 2017

A proposed constitutional amendment would ensure that future governors could appoint new judges and justices up to their last day in office. But John Stemberger, the member of the Constitution Revision Commission who filed the amendment Thursday, said he was temporarily withdrawing the proposal to correct a drafting error. The amendment would make certain that judicial terms […]

Jim RosicaOctober 2, 2017

A proposed constitutional amendment aimed at limiting gambling’s expansion in the state now has more than 600,000 signatures, its backers said Monday. Voters in Charge, the political committee behind the amendment, said it’s “over halfway towards its goal of gathering 1.1 million signatures in order to reach the required number of 766,200 valid petitions to […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 20, 2017

An appellate court on Wednesday ordered satellite-television companies to pay legal and other costs in a long-standing tax case they lost earlier this year. After DirecTV and Dish Network sued, the Florida Supreme Court in April decided satellite TV can be taxed at a higher rate than cable TV. The case was remanded to the 1st District […]

Tag: Florida Supreme Court
Image via Jose Aragu/Facebook.

‘We decline’: Court tosses challenge to Rick Scott’s appointment power

Florida takes No. 1 spot on ‘Judicial Hellholes’ list

Barbara Pariente to stay on Rick Scott judicial appointments case

Plaintiffs pooh-pooh Rick Scott’s bias concern in judicial appointments case

Rick Scott moves to throw Barbara Pariente off judicial appointments case

Right-leaning watchdog now wants judicial emails after ‘hot mic’

Rick Scott won’t say if he’ll seek recusals over Supreme Court ‘hot mic’ incident

Proposal would assure governor’s power to name justices

Gambling amendment now has 600K signatures

Court to DirecTV, Dish: Pay up in taxing case