Justice O'Connor lends her voice to Bar merit retention education effort.

"The retention elections in Florida are very important. And it's important for you to be informed about them."

Those words are part of an introduction former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor videotaped for The Florida Bar's "Understanding Merit Retention" video. It is part of "The Vote's in YOUR COURT: Judicial merit retention" education campaign that is now underway, with information available on the Bar's website.

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"The Vote's in YOUR COURT" program works with civic organizations and local bars to educate voters about what merit retention is and how it works in advance of the November 6 general elections when 15 district court of appeal judges and three Supreme Court justices stand for merit retention.

Bar President Gwynne Young said the statewide program promotes the administration of justice by providing information regarding the importance of the merit retention vote and provides voters with some different processes on how to think about merit and assess it.

The Bar program does not support any individual judge or justice.

Speaking at the Board of Governors' meeting in August, Young continued to urge Florida lawyers to become involved.

"It is critical that we help voters learn about the merit selection and retention system and make informed decisions in the November general election," said Young, adding that the Bar has distributed about 250,000 copies of the six-page "Guide for Florida Voters: Questions and Answers about Florida Judges, Judicial Elections and Merit Retention." The guide has information about the role of trial and appeal court judges and answers questions about the merit retention system.

Young said the nonpartisan League of Women Voters is helping to distribute the guide to community groups and organizations and that the guide is available in English, Spanish, and Creole. She also lauded the efforts of the Cuban American Bar Association to distribute the guides in the Hispanic community. (Single copies of the guide may be downloaded from the Bar website. Larger numbers may be requested by emailing votersguide@flabar. org.) .

"This is a grassroots campaign and we want people to be prepared to...