From Tampa Times:
Attacks on the courts
This is another example of a series of attacks on our state’s judicial system. It unfairly attacks the integrity of our judges and the judicial branch. The general theme was that our state has “lopsided courts” because “plaintiffs’ lawyers have a monopoly on how judges are selected.” It warns, “Until Florida has fairer judges, it will likely have an unfair lawsuit climate.”
Florida’s judges are appointed by the governor or elected by the voters. But these are the kinds of gross misrepresentations in partisan position papers bought and paid for by corporate interests hell bent on destroying the judicial branch and preventing citizens from asserting their rights.
The coordinated campaign to attack the judicial branch continued when incoming Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced a proposal to limit the terms of judges to 12 years. This radical proposal, which is a direct attack on the good judges who honorably serve the interests of justice, is another dangerous attack on our judicial system.
Floridians must recognize that the most dire threat we face in a state overwhelmed with the corrupting influence of unlimited corporate cash is a judicial branch that is withering under constant attacks from the executive and legislative branches, doing the bidding of their corporate handlers. Our entire state court system is funded by less than 1 percent of the entire state budget. That alone illustrates just how dire the plight of our judicial branch really is, but the continuing campaign of attacks we continue to suffer truly demonstrates the crisis every single one of us faces.
Matthew Weidner, St. Petersburg
