NYT: G.O.P. Aims to Remake Florida Supreme Court

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/republican-party-aims-to-remake-florida-supreme-court.html

In a bid to remake Florida’s judiciary, Republicans are asking voters to oust three state Supreme Court justices and give the Legislature greater power over Supreme Court appointments and judicial rules of procedure.

The campaign against the justices by Republican state party officials, a conservative group founded by the Koch brothers and a grass-roots group is similar to the successful push by conservative activists in Iowa during the 2010 election. Voters there defeated three Iowa Supreme Court justices over a ruling that allowed same-sex marriage in the state. A fourth Iowa justice who also ruled in the case is being targeted for ouster this year.

... “I am very, very stressed at the entire circumstance,” said Justice R. Fred Lewis, one of the three judges targeted in the campaign. “What is going on now is much larger than any one individual. This is a full-frontal attack — that had been in the weeds before — on a fair and impartial judicial system, which is the cornerstone and bedrock of our democracy.”

... The Legislature is also involved in efforts to influence the judiciary. A ballot initiative, Amendment 5, would give the Senate, not the governor, final approval over the choice of State Supreme Court justices — similar to the federal system. It also would allow the Legislature to repeal court rules with a majority vote, not the two-thirds now required. And it would grant the House speaker access to confidential judicial misconduct investigation files before charges actually being filed.