In a rebuke of liberal-justice activists, Gov. Rick Scott has appointed conservative jurist Alan Forst to the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. Forst fills the seat vacated by retiring Judge Fred Hazouri, husband of Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente.
Sunshine State News was made aware of the appointment by a high-ranking official in the state judicial system who would only speak on background. Scott is expected to announce the appointment today.
Forst did not return requests for comment.
As Sunshine State News reported this morning, Forst's candidacy had been opposed by the Palm Beach Post and by Democracy at Stake, a left-wing organization founded to support the retention campaign of Justices Pariente, Peggy Quince, and R. Fred Lewis. The Post and Democracy at Stake attacked Forst's credentials, saying he was unfit for the position because of his lack of trial court experience.
None of the three justices for whom Democracy at Stake campaigned had trial court experience before their appointment to an appeals court, and Lewis himself had no judicial experience at all before his appointment to the Supreme Court by Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1998.
More to come ...
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
