Can you guess the kind of justices
Governor Gillum will appoint?
(Excerpt)
A highly contentious legal and political battle surrounds the three seats, held by justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince. All three must depart in January because of a mandatory age 70 retirement limit. Lewis and Pariente were appointed by Florida’s last Democratic governor, Lawton Chiles. Quince was jointly chosen by Chiles and his successor, Jeb Bush, shortly before Chiles died in December 1998 near the end of his second term.
All three justices have issued decisions in major cases in opposition to the Scott administration.
“Governor Scott intends to follow this precedent and will invite the governor-elect to conduct his own interviews of the nominees following the general election,” Scott’s statement said. “The governor’s expectation is that he and the governor-elect — like Governor Chiles and then Governor-elect Bush — will agree on the selection of three justices who will serve with distinction.”
That could get interesting if Gillum, a staunch progressive who once got into a spat with Scott about Tallahassee’s response to Hurricane Hermine, gets elected.
Geoff Burgan, Gillum’s campaign spokesman, implied in a statement that Scott is overreaching. “In our understanding of the Constitution, the next Governor will appoint the next three Supreme Court justices.”
Meanwhile, DeSantis’ campaign said in a statement that he “looks forward to working with Governor Scott” to appoint justices who aren’t “judicial activists who legislate from the bench,” a common talking point throughout his campaign. DeSantis has often compared these three appointments, which have the potential to dramatically alter the philosophical makeup of the state’s highest legal authority, to the national drama surrounding President Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominations.
But that national spectacle could be replicated in Florida. “Rick Scott expects the next governor to cooperate because he expects the next governor to be Ron DeSantis,” said Steve Vancore, a Democratic pollster and consultant.
“If Gillum is elected this will be huge. It will be defining of the next governorship.” Vancore predicted that if Gillum wins, he will challenge Scott in court and use this as an “opening salvo.”
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Meet Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis is the former U.S. Representative for Florida’s Sixth District and the Republican nominee for Governor of Florida. He was endorsed early in the Republican primary by President Donald J. Trump.
While in Congress, he led efforts to impose term limits on members of Congress, cut taxes, repeal ObamaCare, and relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He’s worked to expedite the completion of the reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee in order to stop toxic discharges to the east and west, assist veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress, combat radical Islamic terrorism, stop illegal immigration and defund sanctuary cities.
A native Floridian with blue collar roots, Ron worked his way through Yale University, where he graduated with honors and was the captain of the varsity baseball team. He also graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he earned a commission in the US Navy as a JAG officer. During his active duty service, he supported operations at the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and deployed to Iraq as an adviser to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in support of the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi and the rest of Al Anbar province.
His military decorations include the bronze star medal for meritorious service and the Iraq campaign medal. He has also served as a federal and military prosecutor. He is married to Casey DeSantis, an Emmy award winning television host. Together, they’re the proud parents of their daughter, Madison and their son, Mason
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