Three justices say merit retention battle is about 'survival' of an independent court

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's three state Supreme Court justices facing voters this fall say they are under assault by conservative groups and "out-of-state billionaires" who want to re-make the court to take unrivaled control of all three branches of government.

Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente, and Peggy Quince said Monday the campaign being waged against their merit retention this fall was a dangerous attempt to politicize the state's highest court and deliver new seats for Republican Gov. Rick Scott to fill.

The Republican Party of Florida made the unprecedented move last month of urging GOP voters to oppose retention of all three justices. In its announcement, the party cited the 27-year-old death penalty case of Joe Elton Nixon, which had bounced between appeals courts since 1985.

In 2003, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Nixon because he had not explicitly consented to his defense lawyer's strategy to essentially concede his guilt at trial. That decision was overturned a year later by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Nixon remains on Death Row


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