55 new judges will be elected: petition to let governor fill the openings rejected.

The Florida Supreme Court has denied an unusual petition from the 11th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, which asked the court to halt the elections this fall for 55 new county and circuit judges and instead let Gov. Jeb Bush fill those posts by appointment.

The court acted July 14 on the petition filed July 6 by the JNC. The court originally set an expedited briefing schedule but denied the JNC's request to direct the secretary of state to refuse to accept the filing papers from candidates seeking to run for the 55 new judgeships.

Several lawyers around the state had already filed preliminary papers and opened campaign accounts to run for the new judgeships.

Filing for those seats opened July 17, and closed at noon July 21, as this News was going to press. The court had ordered that reply briefs be filed by July 21, and gave the 11th Circuit JNC until July 26, if it wanted, to respond to those.

The court rejected a motion for clarification from the JNC on its briefing order that basically asked it to decide the case by July 17 or direct the secretary of state not to accept the filing papers from candidates.

That led Fourth Circuit Chief Judge Donald Moran on July 13 to file a motion asking the court to speed up its time for filing briefs so it could rule by July 17, when filing for the new judgeships opens. Failing that, he asked the court to extend the filing deadline until it makes its decision.

Moran said he had talked to several county judges who had filed for reelection to their seats during regular qualifying in May, but were now interested in running for one of the new circuit judgeships created in HB 113. But to do that, they would have to withdraw from their uncontested races, leaving those county judge seats vacant.

If the court then agreed the new judgeships should be filled by appointment, those county judges would lose their chance at a circuit judgeship and lose their current county judgeships when their terms expire in January, Moran said. He added he had also talked with several lawyers interested in running for the new judgeships, but noted they would invest considerable time and money in a race in vain if the court found for the 11th JNC.

The following day, the court issued the order denying the JNC petition. Chief Justice Fred Lewis and Justices Charles Wells, Barbara Pariente, and Peggy Quince signed the one-line denial. They cited the cases Hoy v. Firestone, 453 So. 2d 814 (Fla. 1984) and Advisory Opinion to the...