TALLAHASSEE – A move to stop Gov. Rick Scott from appointing a judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit to fill a vacant seat was recently overturned by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
The July 26 decision reverses the earlier ruling in Leon County Circuit Court in the Second Judicial Circuit that barred Scott from appointing a new judge.
“In our view, allowing for the immediate appointment to fill Judge (Robert) Foster’s seat respects the language of the Florida Constitution,” Appeals Judge Kent Wetherell and Timothy Osterhaus said in their decision.
The reversal goes on to state that Scott is fully within his rights to appoint a new candidate to fill the Nassau County Circuit Court seat in the Fourth Judicial Circuit being vacated by Foster, who was retiring.
The original complaint was filed by David Trotti, a qualifying candidate for the vacancy. He sued after qualifying to prevent the appointment of a new judge, instead calling for open elections. However, in the state of Florida, when judges retire, the vacancy is filled by appointment.
Trotti’s initial appeal with the Florida Supreme Court was denied, stating that to grant the appeal would nullify the governor’s power of appointment in the state’s Constitution. Trotti then decided to take his case to the circuit court, which granted the injunction.
The appeals court said the circuit court’s decision to grant the injunction was wrong for several reasons, one of them being the effect an appeal would have on the public. By halting appointment, Trotti argued that it would allow for elections that would serve the public interest. The court, however, disagreed.
“Mr. Trotti has argued that reversal of the injunction would deprive the voters of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of an election, but the practical reality of the remedy he seeks would be a greater disservice to the public,” Wetherell and Osterhaus said.
The circuit court decision stated that Trotti’s name be added to the ballot and be publicly announced as a qualified candidate in upcoming elections. The court however, argued that Trotti would be running unopposed and that an appointment would be more in the public interest.
“Mr. Trotti would stand unopposed in the forthcoming election and would be deemed elected,” court documents stated.
Wetherell and Osterhaus said replacing the vacancy by appointment would provide much more oversight that having a candidate run unopposed.
“Candidates for Judge Foster’s seat will have been screened by lawyers and lay members of the Judicial Nominating Commission," the ruling said. "The individual selected by the governor would then have to appear at the next general election.”