If the three Florida Supreme Court justices seeking retention in November wish to convince voters they arent left-wing activists, they sure have a funny way of showing it.
On Tuesday I received a phone call from Brian Crowley, representing Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, and Peggy Quinces joint merit-retention campaign. For weeks I have been reaching out to each of the three justices for an interview; their representative let me know that they have specifically declined to interview with Sunshine State News, and not for lack of time or availability.
I was stunned. As a new member of the Florida Bar myself, Im well aware of perceptions, in some quarters, of the ideological stances of each of the seven justices who make up our states Supreme Court. Justices Ricky Polston and Charles T. Canady are commonly considered to be the courts two originalists, committed to interpreting the law according to its original public meaning and not with regard to personal moral ideology; whereas the three justices up for merit-retention in November are among those thought by some to interpret the law through to a more liberal hermeneutic, according to which law can and must change independent of legislative or constitutional amendment processes, through the judiciary.
Sunshine State News makes no bones about the ideological slant of its editorial board. We are transparently a center-right newspaper, and to my knowledge the only one in the state of Florida. Our motto is The Right Source for Politics, and in our sites About Us section we let readers know that --
"[w]e are the only news organization in Florida with an editorial board that believes free-market, less-government solutions will prove successful in addressing the problems challenging our state. Our news stories deal with facts, but we are more than happy to espouse our opinion in columns."
Were not unique in having a bias. Every person and organization does. What distinguishes our paper from the mainstream media outlets is we admit it. We strive to be fair and balanced in all of our news coverage, but we let our readers know our personal biases precisely so they can hold us accountable should they find our coverage skewed in a particular direction.
I dont believe Justices Pariente, Lewis, or Quince are afraid of my doing a hatchet job on them. In the just-over two months Ive worked at the News as its chief legal correspondent, Ive interviewed dozens if not hundreds of big names from all over the political and ideological spectrum; my interviewees, and all who have ever been a subject of one of my pieces, know Im a straight-shooter who shills for no partisan interest.
No, what the justices (or their campaign handlers) are afraid of is the questions they know I will ask them. This campaign season is one of the most volatile in our states and nations history. In an unprecedented move, the three justices are actively campaigning, all around the state, to persuade citizens to vote YES on their retention when they head to the polls in about a month.
This is as it should be, but they are apparently committed to only sitting down with center-left media outlets who will not ask them any of the tough questions you, the readers, want answers to.
As an attorney, I know that the justices cannot answer questions about issues that might appear before them in court. But I can and would ask them questions about their judicial philosophy, their role models on the U.S. Supreme Court, and to explain some of their more controversial rulings which have contributed fairly or unfairly to their characterization by the Republican Party of Florida, Restore Justice 2012, and others as some of the most activist judges in the nation.
No one else is asking, or going to ask, them these questions. I will. Thats why they wont interview with us.
Let me be clear: I have never characterized these justices as such, nor am I doing so in this column. Neither, to my knowledge, have any of my colleagues at the News. We have never endorsed candidates for public office, and we wont be doing so this election cycle or in the near future. Were not telling you not to retain these justices, but we do believe you should know, before you head to the polls, that they have specifically refused to interview with Sunshine State News, the states only center-right newspaper. Take from that fact what you will.
With or without their cooperation, we will profile them in the coming weeks, and let you make up your minds.
If you, the voters, wish the justices to sit down with Sunshine State News, feel free to contact their offices yourselves and respectfully let them know. Heres their public contact information:
Justices Joint Retention Campaign: dann@floridajustices.com
Justice Barbara Pariente: (850) 488-8421
Justice R. Fred Lewis: (850) 488-0007
Justice Peggy Quince: (850) 922-5624.
Contact Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or (954) 235-9116.
