Justice O'Connor to speak at convention.

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Seize your opportunity to hear retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at The Florida Bar Annual Convention, when she will participate in a free seminar called "Choosing Our Judges."

The symposium--which provides 2 CLE credits toward ethics/2 hours certification for State, Federal Government and Administrative Practice--is Bar President Scott Hawkins' Presidential Showcase event aimed at educating Bar members and the public about the merit retention system. Presented by the Constitutional Judiciary Committee, the event will take place Friday, June 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Conference Center in Orlando.

How Florida chooses its appellate judges is a topic of great importance, as voters will be asked in November whether to retain three Supreme Court justices and 15 appellate judges.

Wanting Bar members to be armed with balanced information, Hawkins tells Florida's lawyers: "Your knowledge of our courts and the judges and justices who serve our state is vital to ensuring balanced information during the merit retention campaign. As ambassadors of the court, we must be informed on these issues and engaged in educating others."

Hawkins stresses that the Bar is not endorsing any particular judge or justice, but he wants to make sure information about how they do their jobs and how the merit retention system works is fair and balanced in the face of concerns that some interests will use the merit retention election to promote their own political agendas.

"Fair and impartial courts work to check governmental abuses of power; promote equal justice and the rule of law; and protect individual rights," Hawkins said. "However, the increasing influence of money in judicial elections and attacks on judges and judicial authority challenge the courts in safeguarding basic U.S. democratic values."

Justice O'Connor agrees.

"The crisis of confidence in the judiciary is real and growing. Left unaddressed, the perception that justice is for sale will undermine the rule of law that the courts are supposed to uphold," Justice O'Connor wrote in a forward to a 2010 report...