Supreme Court Appeal Judges Retention

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2016 Florida Supreme Court

The Importance of Judicial Elections

Activist Judges in America have accomplished in the courts what the House and Senate couldn’t accomplish legislatively. They’ve twisted and changed the constitution to create case law to “justify” removing prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments from public classrooms and nearly every area of public life. They’ve created a right to privacy that first allowed married couples to purchase contraception. This new right was then extended to unmarried couples and then further extended to allow a woman the “right” to pay an abortionist to murder her preborn child. This right was later extended to homosexuals convicted of sodomy. One can only wonder what will be the next step.

Our founding fathers feared that the courts would one day rule our country and strip our freedoms from us. As Thomas Jefferson noted, “Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. They have — with others — the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps. . . . And their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible — as the other functionaries are — to the elective control.”

In the Federal Court system, we have no way of reigning in the judiciary short of impeachment, and impeachment is rare. The last politician who attempted to reign in the federal judiciary was forced to resign after facing trumped up charges.

In Florida, however, Justices come up for retention votes after originally being appointed by the Governor. Sadly, most Floridians pay little attention to the judges up for retention, and little knowledge is available on the judicial philosophy of judges and how they’ve ruled on previous cases. Consequently, judges normally are retained with 65 – 75% of the vote.

This must stop! We are in the process of developing a network of attorneys statewide to be constitutional watchdogs in the courts by reporting on how the judges rule on various issues before them, and we the people need to educate ourselves and cast out the judges who view our constitution as “a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please.” (Jefferson). For more on the damage judges have wrought in our country, watch my sermon entitled Judicial Activism: http://covenanttabernacle.com/2010/10/17/sermon-10172010-judicial-activism-tyranny-legislating-from-the-bench.

Below are my recommendations for the FL Supreme Court and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th District Court of Appeals. Following my recommendations, I will explain the rationale behind my recommendations on the Supreme Court justices. Please note that this information is partisan. As such, distributing this information in churches would violate the Johnson Amendment to the IRS 501c3 code. Anyone considering passing partisan voter guides in church, should contact the Alliance Defending Freedom prior to doing so at https://www.adflegal.org.

View other voter guides here: http://www.flvotesvalues.com/.

Florida Supreme Court Justices Up for Retention

Justice Charles T. Canady, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Jorge Labarga, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Ricky L. Polston, Vote Yes to Retain

First District Court of Appeal

Justice Ross L. Bilbrey, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Susan Kelsey, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Lori S. Rowe,Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Kent Wetherell, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Thomas D. “Bo” Winokur, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Jim Wolf, Vote No to Not Retain

Second District Court of Appeal

Justice John L. Badalamenti, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Marva L. Crenshaw, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Patricia Kelly, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Nelly N. Khouzam, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Matthew C. Lucas, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Robert Morris, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Stevan T. Northcutt, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Samuel Salario, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Craig Villanti, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Douglas A. Wallace, Vote No to Not Retain

Third District Court of Appeal

Justice Edwin A. Scales, III, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Linda Ann Wells, Vote No to Not Retain

Fourth District Court of Appeal

Justice Cory J. Ciklin, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Dorian K. Damoorgian, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Jonathan D. Gerber, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Robert M. Gross, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Spencer Levine, Vote Yes to Retain
Justice Melanie G. May, Vote No to Not Retain

Fifth District Court of Appeal

Justice Jay Cohen, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice James A. Edwards, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Brian D. Lambert, Vote No to Not Retain
Justice Vincent G Torpy, Vote No to Not Retain

Florida Supreme Court Justices Up for Retention Rationale

Justice Charles T. Canady, Vote Yes to Retain

Appointed by: Governor Charlie Crist.

Justice Canady is a solid conservative who has served as a US Congressman and an attorney for Florida Governor Jeb Bush. As a Congressman, Canady voted for prolife legislation, voted to ban homosexual marriage, to limit welfare to two years and cut welfare spending, and to give poor kids Opportunity Scholarships to attend private schools. Canady served as one of the prosecuting attorney’s in President Bill Clinton’s Impeachment trial. As a lawyer for Governor Jeb Bush, Canady defended Opportunity Scholarships against legal challenges. Canady serves on the board of a home for unwed mothers. Canady’s nomination received praise from conservatives and the presidents of the Cuban American Bar Association and the Florida Chamber of Commerce but drew criticism from the ACLU director. While being sworn in, Canady asked, “For those of you who pray, I ask that you pray that I will always judge with wisdom and integrity as a faithful servant of the Lord.”

Canady wrote the dissenting opinion on the 2010 FL Proposed Constitutional Amendment 9, arguing that the court should have allowed the amendment to stay on the ballot. Amendment 9 would have given Floridians the right to decide whether to participate in the Federal health care system or not.

Justice Charles T. Canady, Vote Yes to Retain

Justice Jorge Labarga, Vote No to Not Retain

Appointed by: Governor Charlie Crist.

In 2000, Justice Jorge Labarga played a role in the hanging chad case in Palm Beach County ruling that election officials “could not necessarily disregard irregular chads that had not been fully punched out on ballot cards.” (www.nydailynews.com)

In 2008, Labarga made threatening comments about an attorney. “When you pick a fight with a judge, ultimately, you are gonna lose. Not today, but five years from now, 10 years from now, six years from now. That judge is going to remember you, always, always,” Labarga said.

“And, you know, when you do — there is an old saying that if you go after a judge, you better kill him. Because, like I said, it’s true.” (judicialtransperancynow.blogspot.com)

Labarga also was one of five justices to vote to take 2010 FL Proposed Constitutional Amendment 9 off of the ballot. Amendment 9 would have given Floridians the right to decide whether to participate in the Federal health care system or not. (HealthCareNewsFlorida.org)

Justice Jorge Labarga, Vote No to Not Retain

Justice Ricky L. Polston, Vote Yes to Retain

Appointed by: Governor Charlie Crist.

Justice Ricky L. Polston is a solid conservative. Prior to becoming a Justice, he defended the state’s “Choose Life” license plate in court. The Choose Life license plate allows owners of automobiles to pay an additional amount with their tag registration fee that goes to mothers who choose to give their baby up for adoption. As an appellant court judge, Polston wrote a dissenting opinion in favor of opportunity scholarships (vouchers). Polston has four biological children and has adopted six children from Florida’s foster care system.

Polston joined Canady in a dissenting opinion where Canady argued that the court should have allowed 2010 FL Proposed Constitutional Amendment 9 to stay on the ballot. Amendment 9 would have given Floridians the right to decide whether to participate in the Federal health care system or not.

Justice Ricky L. Polston, Vote Yes to Retain