Like Jindal:In surprise move, Florida GOP opposes Supreme Court justices’ retention in November Rea
n a unanimous vote of its board, the Florida Republican Party took the unprecedented move Friday of opposing three Supreme Court justices because of a nine-year-old ruling in a murder case.
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU
TALLAHASSEE -- The Republican Party of Florida waded into a traditionally apolitical fight Friday, announcing it will oppose the retention of three state Supreme Court justices on the November ballot.
In a statement released by its spokeswoman, the party said its executive board voted unanimously this week to oppose Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince in Novembers retention elections. The justices do not face opponents, but voters are asked every six years to vote yes or no on whether they should remain on the job.
The party statement singled out a 2003 case by the court as its main reason for its unprecedented decision to oppose the justices. In the case, Quince and Pariente voted with former Justices Harry Lee Anstead and Raoul Cantero to order a new trial for Joe Elton Nixon, who was sentenced to death for the 1984 murder of Jeanne Bickner in Leon County, because of unfair legal representation. Lewis concurred in the result but dissented in the reasoning.
Nixon, who was convicted of tying Bickner to a tree with jumper cables and setting her on fire, argued during a lengthy appeals process that he never gave his attorney the authority to admit his guilt to the jury, violating his right to a fair trial.
The high court agreed with him in the 5-2 ruling but, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn that decision, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing the majority opinion. She concluded that Nixon, whose behavior included verbal and physical outbursts in the courtroom, had several opportunities to object to his lawyers strategy but never did. Nixon remains on death row.
Supporters of the justices accused the state GOP of using the merit-retention vote, and the case, as a subterfuge to try to seize control of the courts. If a majority of voters reject the justices, Republican Gov. Rick Scott will have an opportunity to appoint their replacements.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/21/3014793/in-surprise-move-florida-gop-opposes.html#storylink=cpy