Voting for or against judges - it's important!

[csziggy]

I always hate this part of the ballot - it's so hard to tell whether or not a judge is worth retaining in office.

The Florida Bar has a page that helps, a little:
http://www.floridabar.org/thevotesinyourcourt

On the page for each district there is a little information about each judge with a link to their biographies on the district court web site.

This year for the first time ever I see clear reasons to NOT vote to retain two of the judges in the First District Court of Appeals which covers my area. The two judges I will vote against are Tim Osterhaus and Clay Roberts. First thing I noticed in looking over their biographies is how short their lists of qualifications are compared to the other judges on the ballot. They barely have a paragraph while the other judges (Judges Robert Benton, Joseph Lewis, and Scott Makar) have extensive qualifications, experience, honors and publications.

The two I will be voting against have more political than legal qualifications. Clay Roberts has one that really stands out for me - he was Director, Florida Division of Elections, 1999-2002. He was the guy in charge during the 2000 Florida Election debacle!

Here is all I need to know about the other one I will be voting against:

Judge Timothy Osterhaus was appointed to the First District Court of Appeal by Governor Rick Scott on May 20, 2013.

Before his appointment, Tim served as the Solicitor General of Florida under Attorney General Pam Bondi. As Florida’s SG, and as Deputy SG before that, he represented the state and state agencies in all of Florida’s district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, federal district and circuit courts, and the United States Supreme Court. This included work on many notable cases, including Florida’s challenge with 25 other states to the 2010 federal healthcare act.
http://www.1dca.org/judges/osterhaus.html

The first line was enough, but the last sentence I quoted put the nail in it as far as I'm concerned. Neither one of these men should be sitting on any judicial bench in my opinion!

Check out the judges in your area - you may find other Republican appointees that we should send home to spend time with their families, not making decisions that destroy other people's families.

[d_r]

1. Thanks nt

[csziggy]

2. You're welcome - and here's another good source for info on all candidates

The Florida League of Women Voters website: http://thefloridavoter.org/

Their page of election guides for Florida:
http://bereadytovote.org/non-partisan-election-guides/

[d_r]

8. Tomorrow is my day

to sit down and fill out my ballot so I appreciate those resources.

[csziggy]

10. I'm going into a polling place for early voting on Monday

But I got my sample ballet last week and started researching the candidates. Most are easy - I already know who they are. It's the judges and the local "non-partisan_ races that I have to check out.

Oh - and the water district people. In fact that is the hardest decision this year. One of the candidates was a local Obama campaign leader in 2008 - he's the one who got me into the campaign database and taught me the software. The other guy has really, really good scientific credentials. Usually we get two hacks running against each other to get a start in politics - which may be what the Obama guy is doing, but his answers to the questions are really good and he's anti-fracking.

The other thing I always have to research are the amendments. At least this year there aren't so many! If you're not sure about the Amendments, the League of Women Voters site has good background info.

[d_r]

11. Thanks, I've got the amendments

those are clear to me, all I was wanting to work on was the judges, that's the hard part for me. My logic has been a lot like yours. I DQ'd a couple of them really quick.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Electing judges is stupid. An independent tribunal should do the recommending to a short list from

which the Executive chooses.

Judges are supposed to be seperate and apart from the political system and beyond the reach of monied interests. In a nation that half pays attention to the national political candidates, how much attention do the voting folks pay to the judges other than what the expensively purchased ads tell them?

[csziggy]

4. Florida judges are appointed from a selection list

Then Florida voters get to decide if judges should be retained. Florida judges are selected the way you suggest:

Judicial Selection in Florida

Supreme Court justices and District Courts of Appeal judges are chosen through a “merit selection” process, where a judicial nominating commission screens and interviews judicial applicants and recommends the best qualified to the Governor for appointment. After at least one year in office, appellate judges stand for retention, and if retained, they serve six-year terms.
http://ivp.nawj.org/state/florida

Once they are appointed, they are subject to retention votes:

Merit Retention Election/2014
Florida law requires Florida Supreme Court justices and appeals court judges to be placed on the ballot in nonpartisan elections every six years so voters can determine whether the judges or justices should remain on their courts for another six-year term. These are called "merit retention" elections. This year, 22 of the state's 61 appeals court judges will be on the ballot; there are no Supreme Court justices on the ballot.
http://www.floridabar.org/thevotesinyourcourt

[Fred Sanders]

5. Interesting, thank you. I reserve my stupid label for the rention election process then.

[csziggy]

6. Actually I sort of like the retention election part

If you have very partisan appointments, like Clay Roberts and Tim Osterhaus, voters that pay attention can attempt to get them out. In practice very few judges get voted out - voters on average just don't pay enough attention to that part of the ballot. Judges generally don't campaign - though sometimes groups campaign against specific judges.

[Fred Sanders]

7. I am against the notion that judges need to be accountable to an electorate, security of tenure

is what allows a judge to be independent and not fear unpopular decisions.

It works out badly in some cases to have lifetime tenure, of course, or tenure to a certain age, but on balance system side it is better if combined with the appointment process.

[Ineeda]

9. Thanks. I usually check out who appointed them

if I can't find other info or if I'm on the fence.