Rule of law.

I have great respect for Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead, but I think he is wrong when he says 88 new judgeships are needed to "ensure the rule of law in Florida is not compromised."

The governor and legislature have already compromised the rule of law in Florida, although we hope not irreparably. Consider Ms. Schiavo, the annual jousting with Roe v. Wade, the movement to give the governor carte blanche in appointment of judges, etc. The question now is whether salvation is possible.

We have precedent for our pessimism. The response of the governor and legislature to the underfunding of public education (resulting in crowded schools and ill-prepared students) was to further reduce funding for public schools and divert millions of public dollars into private and "virtual" schools that need not hire qualified staff or be accredited, need not account for the educational progress of their students, and apparently need not even account for their use of public funds.

If the governor and legislature do to the judicial system what they did to public schools, I would look for public funds to be drained into a private system in which all proceedings are closed...