Posted on 10/17/2002 6:45:58 PM PDT by jmstein7
Revenge served cold - Florida Supreme MUST GO on Nov.5 Topeka Capital Journal / Associated Press ^ | 12/14/2000 | Associated Press
Posted on 10/17/2002 10:02 AM Pacific by SES1066
Florida justice Anstead scrutinized The Associated Press 12/14/2000 [A Past Due Reminder]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida voters have never removed a justice from the state Supreme Court. But Florida justices have never before played such a central role in a close presidential race.
In the aftermath of the historic, five-week legal struggle, conservatives long critical of liberal "judicial activism" have a new target: Justice Harry Lee Anstead, who faces voters in two years.
"The spotlight will be on him, I can guarantee it, no doubt about it," said Republican John Thrasher, a former state House speaker.
Anstead, a Democrat, was one of four justices who voted last week to give Vice President Al Gore the hand counts he sought in his election contest. The U.S. Supreme Court's fractured ruling overturning that decision Tuesday ended the race and gave the White House to George W. Bush.
The three justices who voted with him won't face voters for six years, leaving Anstead the possible lone target for the state's Republican-controlled Legislature, which has been vocal in its disapproval of the decision. Already, a citizens group has formed to call for Anstead's ouster.
"Passions are high," said Patrick Riordan, a history professor at the University of South Florida. "I don't think people are going to forget in two years."
Ken Connor, who failed in an effort to turn out two justices after a 1989 ruling overturned a parental-consent abortion law, isn't so sure.
"That's an eternity in politics," said Connor, now president of the Family Research Council.
Chief Justice Charles Wells is also on the ballot in 2002. All seven justices were appointed by Democratic governors, but Wells seems on surer footing after siding with the minority Friday, writing a passionate dissent immediately quoted by Bush supporters.
Also in the minority were Major B. Harding, who faces voters in 2004, and Leander J. Shaw, set to retire in 2003.
Thrasher won't speculate about Anstead's fate but predicted interest in how Florida's appellate judges get and keep their jobs will stay high -- so high it might be changed.
The seven justices on the Supreme Court and the judges on Florida's five District Courts of Appeal are all appointed by the governor. Every six years the justices and appeals judges face voters in a "merit-retention" election.
Critics may push to change the constitution to have appellate judges elected instead of appointed, Thrasher said.
On Nov. 7, the three justices who joined Anstead in Friday's ruling -- Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince -- sailed through their merit-retention elections with nearly three-quarters of the vote.
Susan Johnson, a Winter Park Republican, voted for Bush and to retain the three justices. She said she got down to their names on the ballot and thought to herself, "I'm sure these guys are fine."
Johnson said Wednesday she knows now how wrong she was.
"This is an extremely liberal court. This is an extremely partisan court. This is an activist bench," she said.
This week, Johnson formed an organization called Balance to the Bench with Tampa businessman Sam Rashid. The group wants to increase voters' awareness of judges' records -- and remove Anstead.
"It seems out of balance to me that we have a conservative Legislature, a conservative governor and a conservative Cabinet but an extremely liberal court," Johnson said.
Anstead, 63, was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court in 1994 by then-Gov. Lawton Chiles. He faced voters two years later and breezed through with 68.5 percent of the vote.
But in 2002, Florida voters could be as divided over Anstead as they were over this year's presidential race.
"There will be those who will not want to forget about the activity of the court and the feeling that they overreached and, conversely, there will be those who feel they did the right thing," Thrasher said.
Former Chief Justice Gerald Kogan said he isn't convinced Anstead's job is at risk, calling him "one of the finest justices we've ever had."
"There may very well be a lot more Gore voters in Florida than Bush voters, so it's not like he's universally condemned for this," Kogan said. "As a matter of fact, half the voters in Florida are very happy with him -- and that's more than most justices can say."
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