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Nancy Smith

Rick Scott Can't End Judicial Activism, Conservatives, It's All Up to YOU Now

October 16, 2018 - 6:00am

If Monday's Supreme Court decision doesn't light a fire under Florida's conservative base, I have no idea what will.

Almost immediately, the next governor, not Rick Scott, will choose three Supreme Court justices.

If Republicans care, they will beat a path to the polls. They will pound on doors and get other Republicans to vote, too. Heck, they will bend the ears of Constitution-loving Floridians wherever they can be found.

How our laws are shaped perhaps for generations is at stake. 

I Beg to DifferIf Ron DeSantis wins in November, Florida will have three justices dedicated to judging cases based on the evidence and following the Constitution as it's written. They will be firm opponents of legislating from the bench to support their ideological views. They will look to the Legislature to MAKE the law, and the court to FOLLOW it.

If Andrew Gillum wins, Florida will have three justices who rule on controversial political issues based on personal opinion, rather than existing law. A "Governor Gillum" would duplicate activist retiring Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, the Supreme Court’s "liberal bloc" and three-quarters of its 4-3 majority.

Think, voters. Don't you want your Supreme Court justices to follow the Rule of Law whether it suits an agenda or not?

"Nowhere is the pattern of judicial activism more prevalent than in the State of Florida," writes Colleen Pero, an attorney and legal analyst specializing in reviewing state supreme court opinions, in an American Justice Partnership Report

And she cites examples in her report, "The Activist Journey of the Florida Supreme Court." Here are a few:

Armstrong v. Harris, 773 So.2d 7 (Fla. 2000). By adding an "accuracy requirement" to the Florida Constitution, the Supreme Court declared a constitutional amendment passed by 72.8 percent of the voting public unconstitutional.

Delgado v. State, 776 So.2d 233 (Fla. 2000). Adding the word "surreptitiously" to the burglary statute, resulting in the setting aside of two murder convictions.

D’Amario v. Ford Motor Company, 806 So.2d 424 (2001) (joined with General Motors Corporation v. Nash) Comparative negligence applies in product liability cases, yet not in crashworthiness cases. The court went shopping in other state courts to determine the majority view ... and then adopted the minority view.

Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So.2d 315 (Fla. 2001). (joined with Soriano v. B&B Cash Grocery Stores, Inc.)(superseded by statute) The wholesale rewriting of Florida’s premises liability law, without regard to precedent or the Legislature.

Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Johnson, 873 So.2d 1182 (Fla. 2003). Recognizing a new legal duty where one has never been recognized before ... and in so doing, refusing to consider public policy consequences.
Breaux v. City of Miami Beach (joined with Poleyeff v. City of Miami Beach), 889 So.2d 1059 (Fla. 2005) Exposing local governmental units to greater tort liability through the expansion of prior Florida court decisions. "... another example of the Supreme Court expanding precedent well beyond the original case to reach a desired result." 

Aguilera v. Inservices, Inc., 905 So.2d 84 (Fla. 2005) Ignoring the exclusivity of the Workers’ Compensation Act by establishing a new tort action for improper claims handling by a workers’ compensation carrier. "This case is one of the most blatant examples of the judicial activism by the Florida Supreme Court."

Bush v. Holmes, 919 So.2d 392 (Fla. 2006) By creating a new constitutional mandate, the court held invalid a scholarship program allowing students in chronically failing public schools an opportunity to either attend a better performing public school or receive a voucher to attend a private school. The court held that the Opportunity Scholarship Program "was invalid because the public school system is the 'exclusive means set out in the constitution for the Legislature to make adequate provision for the education of children.' This came as quite a surprise to court-watchers, Pero wrote, considering there is no such express language or reasonable implication found anywhere in Florida’s constitution." 

"There should be no better reminder than Monday's Supreme Court decision to show us how critical it is to get out the vote,"  said Tampa attorney Martin Garcia, former chairman of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, "We just saw in the Kavanaugh hearing how important the selection decision is and what long-term  implications are involved."

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia was more specific: "Andrew Gillum would appoint radical, activist justices who would legislate from the bench and work to eliminate school choice, erode pro-life principles and impose big-government ideology on our state. Ron DeSantis is an attorney, Iraq veteran and former Navy JAG officer who knows the importance of appointing strong constitutionalists to the bench.

Make no mistake: Thanks to this ruling by the Florida Supreme Court, the election is no longer a simple contest between left and right. It's between the rule of law and the rule of lawlessness.

The choice is that simple. And that important.

Forget the Red Wave. We need a Tsunami.




Florida Supreme Court Hands Selection of Next 3 Justices to New Governor

Weekly Roundup: Florida's 'Supreme' Controversy


A lot of skirmishing here, but to the point: Rick Scott cannot do to the Supreme Court what he's done to Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee, the St. Lucie River or the near shore waters of the Gulf and Atlantic. He'll have to leave that to Desantis.

You know I would agree if you all had a good blue candidate like Gwen , but anyone that would vote for Gillum needs to really check themselves, or just jump on the boat to Cuba.

Yeah! I think I'd like an all-expenses paid vacation to Havana . . . sounds fine to me! I guess all you Conservatives and tea party ass holes can't imagine Medicare for All, $15 min. wage and all the other horrific democratic rights you republicans hate. Make America great again . . . WOW !

This is a brilliant plan: first chase out companies with the spike in the tax rate, then kill jobs with the MW-15. Offset those unemployed onto the "free" healthcare, and then as those rolls swell and the costs exceed projections there are fewer workers to bail it out. It's a can't-win scenario we can all enjoy!

@James why call me names I clearly said if you had a real candidate I would have been more then happy to have voted Blue you just put the wrong guy in there ass.

YOU are a walking disaster--all by yourself. Who in the world do you think would be paying the bill for your FREE MEDICARE, and who would be paying your $15./hour salary with every, single purchase we make? People who vote to get free stuff need to lose their citizenship. Actual citizens work together to make it a great place to live for EVERYONE, and none of us are delusional about the fact that ALL WORKING TOGETHER is what has made America great in the first place.

What is so great in America? 27 in the world in Education, 19 in healthcare, 42 in travel infrastructure, 32 in industrial production ( and most of that is foreign owned car companies). You need to wake up fool...

Just two questions: Where did you get the numbers from ? and, if this is such a bad country, why do so many foreigners want to live here ?

~G~I~L~L~U~M~ = DISASTER! De Santis is not Racist - he likely was Raised when the "N" word was still in use (he's a Florida boy)! He's his own man and KNOWS that the Blacks in Florida are doing good, and he's fighting for them as well.

Gillum makes sense for a 100 reasons more than DeSantis. If for nothing else, to check this do nothing, nonsensical legislature...

Go Gillum! (Time to retire, Smith. Your partisan gushing has turned into partisan drooling.)

You do not change a do-nothing legislature by electing a governor. You change a do-nothing legislature by electing better legislators---or BY RUNNING FOR OFFICE YOURSELF!!! WHY NOT? You are just as good as the next guy. This country runs on executed ambition--not on worthless rhetoric.

You forgot the 100 other reasons Gillum makes more sense than DeSantis. Please don't pull out the free stuff and socialism dogma, it is all crap for the uneducated idiots that buy it... Socialized healthcare at the Medicare rate would save billions... 9 of the top 10 democracies in the world have socialized healthcare and they are certainly not socialists... It is merely the rallying cry of the uneducated...

One more reason, and there are many, to just say no to radical leftist Andrew Killum

John Mills and the League of Women voters chalk up another big win for judicial activism. Each of the three nominees will be replaced by the New Governor from a list of three to six lawyers selected by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Unlike the federal system, there is no senate confirmation process for judges in Florida. So Nancy is right—the Governor’s election is likely to determine the direction of the Florida Supreme Court for many long years. And the difference in judicial philosophy between Gillum and Desantis is clear. Gillum will appoint activist judges and Desantis will favor strict constructionists. This is the best argument I have seen for the election of Ron Desantis.

If that is the best you got, your belief about the appointment of judges based on a lie, then that is exactly why DeSantis will lose. There is no good reason to vote for him...

Typical partisan hit piece. For every liberal or lawless interpretation of Supreme Court cases (only 8 here), I can give you 5 radically repressive examples of the overreach by alleged "conservative" judges. Funny, how it matters none to just lie to support your cause and somehow rail your side to legal supremacy where absolutely none exists... This is exactly why people are sick of Republicans, because they lie and don't even care if people realize it... That's how brash they have become...and I am an independent voter, who still votes for some responsible conservative Republicans, but just as many responsible moderate Democrats. At the end of the day, it comes down to an easy choice. Do you choose helping people or special interests? A simple choice to me...

GILLUM is NOT a MODERATE. Gillum is so far left you have to turn your whole self around to see him. Even I might consider a MODERATE Democrat, but this guy is a disaster headed our way.

Why? because you say so...? Who said he was a moderate anyway? DeSantis is so radical right, the freedom caucus is some of the most dangerous idiots in the country. Your partisan blinders do nothing for common sense. The simple choice is people or special interests...nothing more, nothing less...

That's a pretty opinionated outlook, on how the court would look, and act, depending on who's elected, Nancy. I would HOPE, who ever get's to nominate those 3 (IMPARTIAL) justices, would choose them based on their judicial record of fairness and impartiality. I, for one, have no intention electing anyone that doesn't give a rats rear end about the people he serves. And that's NOT Ron DeSantis. Anyone who legislates that a persons pre existing condition should not be included in any healthcare bill, is no friend of the people he must govern. As for me? I'm sick of Republican and their "SO CALLED" conservatism. There's NOTHING conservative about any of today's Republicans. NOTHING. So if you want to keep more of your money safer from the hands of thieves in government, you'll wise up, and VOTE BLUE this November. Send a message. The PEOPLE are what's important.

It's been said by many historical commentators that the partisanship today is as bad as it was just prior to the Civil War breaking out ... and people like Smith do nothing but make it worse. Newt Gingrich, the Bush neocons, the Palinites, the Teabaggers, the Freedom Caucus, identity politics, and fascistic leadership (a la Mitch McConnell) over the last 25 years have led us to this point. The question is ... what will the outcome be. (???)

Civil War? Really, we have all the guns.

YOU better hope and pray there's not another civil war, for your own sake

“I’ve voted for more white candidates than you have black candidates “. Quintessential racist statement. Your rage gets in the way of reason and fact. So we’ve come to this. My rage against the anti-Semites Gillum is surrounded by is just as strong but I won’t call you one unless I see evidence. I believe the charge against DeSantis is about politics period.

It is clear from your racist tone that you don't understand the meaning of a Semite. It is a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs. Your rage is strictly political...

Charlotte, you forgot the part where I told you to see that on your hood and wear it. If you are going to quote me, add it all!! Lol!!

So Gillum is an Anti-Semite but DeSantis isn’t a racist. Got it! Lol!!

“Surrounded by”

I am sure Mitch McConnell agrees, as should all Floridians with courts decision

Thanks, Nancy for this important story...we ALL need to VOTE on November 6th to ensure that we get the kind of Florida Supreme court that we deserve - and it isn't the current Court with its current make-up...we have 3 good conservative Justice's and we need to add three more and that will ONLY happen if we support and vote for RON DeSANTIS for Governor...he will appoint the right kind of jurists to the Supreme Court...sad to see Leslie's comments above, but they're not surprising...the Courts are our final arbiter of everything legislated...thank God we got the right person confirmed to the US Supreme let's do it in Florida too!


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nancy smith

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