Voters retain all appellate jurists.

Floridians voiced strong support for three Florida Supreme Court justices and 18 district court of appeal judges on the merit retention portion of the general election ballot.

The trio of high court justices -- Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince -- each reaped nearly 72 percent approval when voters were asked if they should be retained in office.

"I just felt tremendously blessed to have the extra opportunity to serve the people of Florida when I went through the merit retention process," said Justice Lewis, who joined the court in 1999 after 26 years in private practice. He received 71.5 percent of the vote, after his first experience of having his name appear on the ballot.

"I'm extremely grateful to Floridians for the trust for a few additional years with the court, and I will certainly give it every effort to enhance the public's confidence in our judicial system," the 52-year-old Lewis added.

Justice Pariente, who has been on the court since 1998 after serving on the Fourth District Court of Appeal from 1993-97, received a 71.8-percent vote of approval.

"I am very happy that the voters of the state of Florida expressed their trust and confidence in both the justices and the appellate court judges who were up this year for merit retention," 51-year-old Justice Pariente said.

"While it was at times frustrating during the election period to realize that there were many misconceptions about the merit retention and selection process, in the end I am thrilled that the overwhelming majority of the...