{"id":1188227,"date":"2023-08-23T14:37:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T14:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/?p=442203"},"modified":"2023-08-23T14:37:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T14:37:58","slug":"ron-desantiss-next-ideological-coup-judicial-gerrymander-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/08\/23\/ron-desantiss-next-ideological-coup-judicial-gerrymander-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Ron DeSantis\u2019s Next Ideological Coup: \u201cJudicial Gerrymander\u201d in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Florida Gov. Ron<\/u> DeSantis<\/span> has been slowly taking over the mechanisms of governance in the state by swapping out officials he doesn\u2019t like \u2014 even if they were elected by voters \u2014 and replacing them with people who will bend to his will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lately, DeSantis has set his sights on the justice system. Earlier this month, he removed an elected prosecutor from office over a political disagreement \u2014 the second he has taken out. State Attorney for Orange-Osceola counties Monique Worrell, the governor claimed, hadn\u2019t pursued the charges he wanted. A year earlier, he suspended<\/a> former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who had said he wouldn\u2019t criminally charge people who sought abortion care under Florida\u2019s latest abortion ban. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Florida is opening a new front in the battle between state politicians and elected stewards of the law, taking the first steps to launch what could become an ideological gerrymandering of the justice system. In Florida, 20 circuit courts serve two main purposes: as regional courts for certain types of cases, as well as appeals courts for the smaller county court systems. DeSantis\u2019s allies are seeking to remake those circuit districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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On June 30, the Florida Supreme Court, which oversees the circuit courts, created<\/a> a new commission to review the judicial circuits. The commission was created after a request from Republican state House Speaker Paul Renner, who had written a June 15 letter<\/a> to the court asking that it review judicial circuits to account for recent demographic shifts and consider consolidating them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is judicial gerrymandering, plain and simple,\u201d said Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani. Eskamani represents the district where Worrell was elected and is running for reelection next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe intent is to create these larger circuits that water down the vote of the more progressive areas.\u201d<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you consolidate the circuits, Monique Worrell will not be reelected. And that\u2019s a 100 percent what their plan is,\u201d Eskamani said. \u201cThe intent is to create these larger circuits that water down the vote of the more progressive areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission launched against the backdrop of a national effort to limit or void the authority<\/a> of elected prosecutors in more than 15 states. Its commission\u2019s decisions could impact judges and elected state attorneys, public defenders, and circuit clerks. Authorized by a Supreme Court dominated by DeSantis appointees and Federalist Society members, the commission creates a new way for the DeSantis administration to remove elected officials it might disagree with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing DeSantis\u2019s push to efforts in other states to restrict the authority of prosecutors, Eskamani said, \u201cThis is out of that same exact playbook.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Redrawing Judiciary Districts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the commission\u2019s review process results in redrawn maps, circuit judges could also face challenges to their reelection efforts, said Neil Skene, a legal historian who wrote a history of the Florida Supreme Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skene said that \u201cthe likely approach will be to add one or more \u2018red\u2019 counties to the major \u2018blue\u2019 counties like Hillsborough and Orange and perhaps Jacksonville and Tallahassee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move by the court to review judicial circuits comes just over a year after state lawmakers approved salary increases<\/a> for circuit court judges and state Supreme Court justices, budgeting $50 million for the newly created Sixth District Court of Appeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do something nice for you, and you might do something nice for me one day. That\u2019s what happens.\u201d<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The salary bumps included in the package are raising a question about the Supreme Court\u2019s motives for creating the commission. \u201cThere is something of a tradition where the legislature and the court system engage in this sort of \u2014 I won\u2019t call it an exchange of favors, but in appreciation for one thing, they will sort of identify a thing that will be important to the other and do it,\u201d he said. \u201cI do something nice for you, and you might do something nice for me one day. That\u2019s what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission plans to hold seven meetings, including two public hearings, and expects to submit a final report by December 1 on whether or not there is a need to consolidate judicial circuits. The commission has held two meetings since July, and its first public hearing is scheduled Friday at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state Supreme Court will receive the committee\u2019s findings and could include any nonbinding recommendation in its annual certification opinion, which is submitted to the legislature. \u201cThe legislature regularly exercises its authority to set and fund judge positions in ways that differ from the Supreme Court\u2019s opinion,\u201d court spokesperson Paul Flemming told The Intercept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the commission\u2019s first meeting<\/a> in July, Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Mu\u00f1iz said there was no preconceived outcome; he encouraged commission members to keep an open mind throughout the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Throughout July and August, at least 25 state attorneys and judges submitted feedback to the commission. The Florida Bar sent a survey to members on August 10 asking for feedback on existing circuits. Several raised concerns with the idea of consolidating districts and said such changes could undermine community ties and public trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are proud of our communities and choose to live in small towns for a reason,\u201d wrote Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney John Durrett. \u201cTo tether or consume us within another Circuit, headquartered within an urban center hundreds of miles away, would only serve to create a sense of detachment and neglect,\u201d he said. \u201cConsolidation would not develop trust. It would undermine it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that re-aligning or consolidating Florida’s judicial circuits would be very disruptive to our law enforcement and our criminal justice systems,\u201d Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle wrote. \u201cLike education, law enforcement is, and should be, local and reflect community values; judicial circuit consolidation would serve neither of those two ideals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"House\n

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, waves prior to a joint session for Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s State of the State speech on March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla.<\/p>\n

\nPhoto: Phil Sears\/AP<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

Republican Motives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks passed between when Renner, the Republican House speaker, first sent his letter to the court and when Chief Justice Carlos Mu\u00f1iz issued the order to create the commission. The process was atypically swift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renner sent the letter after the state legislative session ended. There had not been a broader discussion about circuits during the session, said Eskamani, the Democratic representative, and the speed of the commission\u2019s creation was unusual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something like Renner\u2019s letter or the court\u2019s proposal often comes at the end of a process, not the beginning, Skene said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna get an immediate response to a ridiculously obscure proposal like restructuring the court system. That just has no political appeal. But what does have political appeal: if we redraw these lines in a way that gets more Republicans and fewer Democrats elected,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving somebody see the political opportunity in a relatively routine governance issue always helps move things very quickly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speed at which the court moved to create the commission after Renner sent his letter undermines the idea of three branches of government serving as checks on each other, Eskamani said. \u201cTo see that letter and also just how fast things moved, clearly there\u2019s some sort of coordination here,\u201d she said. \u201cThe commission was formed incredibly fast. They\u2019ve already convened and now they\u2019re coming to Orlando.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to questions about the timing of the commission\u2019s creation, Flemming, the court spokesperson, said Mu\u00f1iz\u2019s administrative order spoke for itself. \u201cSuch an assessment is contemplated in the Court\u2019s rules, where an annual assessment is allowed, as specified in the administrative order,\u201d Flemming said. He added that the timing of the committee\u2019s work is directed in part by the early start of the 2024 legislative session, which begins during January in even-numbered years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to The Intercept, Renner cited Florida’s population growth since the last review in 1969 and the desire to cut costs through consolidation. \u201cThis request for review is a responsible, first step to understanding whether we can optimize our court system to best serve Floridians in the 21st Century,\u201d Renner said. (DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most clear, obvious result of this is going to be circuits that are not going to elect Democratic public defenders, or Democratic state attorneys, or Democratic anyone.\u201d<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For judges, a seat on the circuit courts can be seen as an audition for higher appointment by the governor, Skene said. \u201cNow it\u2019s much more a patronage-driven process,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is another step in the partisan-izing of the court system. That\u2019s the big concern. And obviously, what you want is judges who are not gonna rule based on whether they like your politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeSantis has already reshaped the court system<\/a> by appointing ideological allies, Eskamani said, and the commission could create opportunities for him to expand that network. \u201cWe already see this erosion of our judicial system based on the lack of merit-based decision-making. And then this, on top of it \u2014 it\u2019s purely political.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most clear, obvious result of this is going to be circuits that are not going to elect Democratic public defenders, or Democratic state attorneys, or Democratic anyone,\u201d Eskamani said. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely a tool to weaken the power of voters.\u201d <\/p>\n

The post Ron DeSantis\u2019s Next Ideological Coup: \u201cJudicial Gerrymander\u201d in Florida<\/a> appeared first on The Intercept<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on The Intercept<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The governor\u2019s allies took the first steps toward moves that could upend the election of Democratic prosecutors and even judges.<\/p>\n

The post Ron DeSantis\u2019s Next Ideological Coup: \u201cJudicial Gerrymander\u201d in Florida<\/a> appeared first on The Intercept<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1188227"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196329,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188227\/revisions\/1196329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1188227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1188227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}