Troubling news. Businesses back Florida Republicans in seeking to weaken judges.

This is a stunning and arrogant move by the Republicans who control everything in Florida. This is a perfect example of what happens when hotheads have no checks and no balances.

Businesses Back Move To Weaken Florida Judges


CHRIS O'MEARA | AP PHOTO
House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park -- and powerful business groups -- are driving the sweeping changes, which will likely find a receptive audience in the strongly conservative leaders running the Florida Legislature.



Former Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw says he sees something "that I've never really seen before: a huge theme to get back at the court in some way."

In fact Cannon's words do sound that way. The House speaker's words:



Ah, the redistricting did play a huge role. Now they are going to fix those courts...like pouty children who don't get their way.

Here is a view of the issue from a site called South Florida Lawyers.

Florida Legislature To Strip Courts of Rule-Making Ability?



The site points out the the amendment says that:



Just another really weird idea out of Florida. There is no end to them.

This could happen in your state too...who's next?

Other states should be on the alert.

More here.


That photo of Cannon enrages me.

They are such arrogant sob's, and you are right. People don't see the problem.

I missed that post of yours you linked to, but I saw the other you posted about Troxler.

Guess we are going to have to keep posting to get attention to it. With Charles Canady as head of the SC here, I worry. He's very right wing.

This is coming nationwide, and it's getting virtually no attention.

Thanks for keeping the light on it, mad.


These guys have always hated judges who won't kowtow to right wing agenda. It's gotta be the *right* judicial activism, don'tcha know.


These are very dark days.

we won't recognize it all. :-(

That's another word for the law.

This is quickly becoming one of the most arrogant bunch of men I have ever seen in my lifetime. They are to the point of being dangerous.

Be very afraid.

And it is being ignored.

and weakening "activist judges."

snip








Edited to correct link: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/03/07/house-speaker-split-florida-supreme-court-into-two/

I hear Scott might give up opposing them. Hard to tell. I still get the emails and nothing sounds decided yet.

I mean, really, the voters passed it but folks like Cannon have their noses out of joint. They would be willing to go against the voters. And mad because the courts upheld them.

Whiny little pouters.

From the first link:

"Cannon, a lawyer, said he respects the judicary's independence but wants to curb its power because he argues it has exceeded its constitutional limits. Exhibit 1 of that overreach, according to Republican legislative leaders: the Supreme Court's rejection of three constitutional amendments drafted by lawmakers last year aimed at preserving their power to draw the boundaries for the districts they represent."

Here's more about the Fair Districts amendments that could cause some to lose elections. We are so gerrymandered there is no way to change things as they are now. It was a hard fight. Scott has tried to stop it, now they are trying.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20110318/NEWS/103185049

this information because it's so essential, but the REAL problem is that TOO MANY people don't even have a CLUE!

I talk politics all the time TRY so hard to make others PAY ATTENTION before REALITY, but far too many here in Florida are so APATHETIC, and what's worse believe Repukes are REALLY doing a good job! So many are rich here and they couldn't give a rat's ass about anything but what THEY CAN GET!

I keep waiting for the day when they really NEED a "commoners" help and THOSE people won't be there. Unfortunately this state isn't one that ORGANIZES much of anything for the middle class and is all about stripping away one right after another. The amendments that we vote on are worded in such a way that so many of them are down right confusing so if a neighbor is a Repuke supporter, then they just "tell" the others to vote THEIR way!

I've seen it happen over and over and it's SICKENING! I've tried to make a difference here, but most of the time I fall FLAT on my face. We had a rally for Defend The Dream here in my county last week and only had about 50 to 55 people attend. And I brought 3 people with me who actually live in Illinois!! They were Union people and agreed to come along. They were SHOCKED at such a low turnout, but I told them that it's ALWAYS this way!

Makes me want to just quit, and I have at times because most of the time I go alone! To many, I'm THE WEIRD ONE! And if I print things out and SHOW them they sort just look at me and must think "well it's just HER again!"

It's more than frustrating and I must admit there are times when I myself DON'T really want to know because of how depressing it is!

Thanks again!
:hug:

The only people we hear around here think Rick Scott is god-like. I fear the rest of us, and there are some of us left....get tired of trying to be heard.

He's too much the teabagger for their comfort; they distrust him only slightly less than we do. The good news is, Scott has made a number of powerful enemies within the FL-GOP. The bad news is, it won't make one whit of difference; we're all stuck with him.

plus others like them. They feel they are jokes and are hurting the GOP image.

it has just been proposed that the legislators be allowed to rake in more than $500.00 per donator. Somewhere on the line of 10K so they don't have to waste all that time sucking money out of their base and can thereby meet with their constituents and not worry about sore lips.

Isn't this state a wonderful place?

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/304947

"If you're a Florida lawmaker whose bills keep getting thrown out of court because they're illegal, what do you do? You fabricate a judicial crisis to take over the courts, create a bill, call it a Constitutional amendment, and hope voters buy it.

Florida courts are, for the second time since 2001, facing a legislative assault on their independence as the Florida Legislature tries to conjure up more prefabricated judicial crises to reportedly push more than a half-dozen measures to usurp judicial power and give the Legislature and Governor more influence in selecting judges from the county courthouse to the Florida Supreme Court.

The changes proposed by Florida's legislature would further enable special interest groups -- lobbyists -- angered by any court decision to remove judges they don't like.
Republicans in Florida's legislature are trying to justify splitting the Florida Supreme Court in two to create a second Supreme Court, allegedly to speed up the administration of justice - particularly death penalty cases. One Supreme Court would handle criminal cases and one would handle civil cases. Each court would consist of five members each. Unsurprisingly, the information used by the legislature to justify its actions conflict with reality.

As usual, power business groups are driving the sweeping changes proposed by Florida's Republican legislative leaders. The business groups, with House Speaker Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) leading the charge, want to dismantle existing judicial nominating commissions, which they see as too close to the state's trial lawyers, and give Rick Scott, Florida's Republican Governor, more power to select judges."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/304947#ixzz1HO51M77b

I'm ready to write a letter or a check...what else can we do?

simply don't seem to work as I see it. Even most of the Democrats that get elected are pretty much Dino's and have some tentacles connected to or are reaching out to some Repukes. Grayson spoke out loudly here in Florida and NOW he's gone, and yet Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is climbing up the line of power brokers! To me, and yes even Kendrick Meek have sucked up to them a lot. This is of course, only MY opinion and many may not share this view. I have other theories that link to my feeling this way, many the include what JEBBY is doing behind the scenes. I do think he had a LOT to do with what happened to Charlie Crist, because even though Crist "was" a Repuke, he didn't want to play Jebby's game as I see it. And I DO fear that Jebby didn't run for Senator because he has HIGHER HOPES!! HORRORS, when the Bush name dies down! I recall when NIXON re-emerged, the crook that he ALWAYS was!

Am I too much into conspiracy theories, I wonder sometimes, but I've lived in this state since 1971 and have seen so many changes.

Without going back to check for sure, I think Reuben Askew was Governor when I moved here or maybe I just became aware of him AFTER my Viet Nam actions back then! Raised as an Army brat, my husband who is an actual native born in Tampa decided we should move here from Texas after his father retired to Hernando, FL! Back then, strange as it seems BOTH of these states were a LOT MORE Democratic! Today, it's turned on it's head and I'm a fish out of water.

To whom could you write a check to here in Florida? I really don't know because other than Grayson I've seen almost NOBODY stick their head on the chopping block. But then, I've been so turned off that I've tried NOT to look as close as I once did. Besides, I live in a county that I don't think has EVER elected a Democrat as a County Commissioner! I moved to THIS county in 1978 and that's a long time ago.

I've even had the PRIVILEGE of having Katherine "Cruella" Harris as my two term Congressional representative, and this is the county that experienced the 18,000 plus under votes when Christine Jennings ran against Vernie "lawsuit king" Buchanan! I've told this story many, many times here on DU and it still depresses me!

And now, the MONEY GRAB is on BIG TIME as we can see by the proposal of upping the amount of donations to candidates! And I don't have money to give even though I live in one of the highest per capita income counties in the state of Florida. Many well known people own homes here, and I can ride a bike up Casey Key and see Stephen King sometimes. He did speak out at a Rally at Marina Jack's about 2 weeks ago, one that I missed for personal reasons. It WAS a bigger rally, but still small compared to people in Wisconsin!

AND THIS STATE is right up there with what is happening in Wisconsin and may even get worse because TOO MANY PEOPLE won't WAKE UP!! Those people I talked about from IL were shocked by the lack of support here! They told me that they could have EASILY gotten 15,000 plus to march. It's PATHETIC!

Sorry to go on so long, but UNFORTUNATELY were it not for many of those like seafan, madfloridian and others here at DU I might have simply hidden under a rock by now! To those I haven't mentioned, you KNOW who you are and you are so appreciated by me!

I'll stop for now, but my IRE lives on...
:grr: :nuke:

have that bauer/lott/santorum smirk/look/hair? They creep me out.

This is really scary especially combined with news about Gov. Scott's desire to hand everything over to the "private sector".

they are now going to try hinging bonuses on the amount of judging the judges do. Kinda a "stuff 13 cases through your court today and you get a trip to Disney world, with 21 cases you go to Legoland".

I don't think it's gonna happen, but this is Floriduh and stranger than fiction things alway seem to happen.