Title: In Re Advisory Opinion to the Governor
Citation: 213 So. 2d 716
Docket Number: 37771
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: August 27, 1968

213 So. 2d 716 (1968)
In re ADVISORY OPINION TO THE GOVERNOR.
No. 37771.

Supreme Court of Florida.
August 27, 1968.
*717 PER CURIAM.
Dear Governor:
We have the honor to acknowledge your communication of August 12th, 1968, requesting our advice pursuant to Section 13, Article IV, Constitution of Florida, F.S.A., relating to certain executive powers and duties.
The question is within the limits of our constitutional authority to answer.
Your inquiry relates to your constitutional authority to review the judicial accuracy and propriety of a Judge of the Criminal Court of Record of Dade County, Florida, and to suspend him from office if it does not appear to you that the Judge has exercised proper judicial discretion and wisdom.
Section 15 of Article IV, Constitution of Florida, provides:
A Criminal Court of Record Judge is not subject to impeachment. See Section 29, Article III and Section 17(3), Article V, Florida Constitution. He is, however, an officer and subject to the provisions of Section 15, Article IV, supra. We glean from your letter that we are not here concerned with malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty in office, commission of a felony or drunkenness, as grounds for suspension, but that you are presently concerned with the ground of "incompetency."
In State ex rel. Hardie v. Coleman, 115 Fla. 119, 155 So. 129, 92 A.L.R. 988, this Court said:
But there the suspension involved a sheriff who is a part of the executive branch of the State Government and further, the charge of incompetency was buttressed by several other charges involving different and more serious grounds. By way of caveat we point out that the Hardie decision was thirty-six years ago and a majority of the present Justices have expressed an interest in a reexamination of the definition of such incompetency as it relates to officers of the Executive Branch also, if and when the question is properly before us.
But we are here concerned with the power of the Chief Executive to remove for incompetency a member of the Judicial Branch for judicial labor apparently unsatisfactory to some segment of the populace.
Article II, Constitution of Florida, provides:
From 16 C.J.S. Constitutional Law § 104, page 483, under the title "Separation of Powers" we read:
And from the equally respected American Jurisprudence, Vol. 16, page 461 we read:
However, we realize that Section 15, Article IV, gives the Governor the power to suspend all officers not subject to impeachment for the reasons stated therein.
From 48 C.J.S. Judges § 27, page 976, in discussing the grounds for removing judges, we read:
In State ex rel. Brickell v. Martin, 180 Ala. 458, 61 So. 491, text at 494, the Supreme Court of Alabama said:
Vol. 20A Words and Phrases, Permanent Edition, Incompetent, at page 314, says:
Article V, Constitution of Florida, provides a method of appellate review for the benefit of litigants aggrieved by the decisions of Criminal Court of Record Judges. Appeal is the exclusive remedy and the purely judicial acts of such judges are not subject to review as to their accuracy by the Governor. The Select Commission appointed by you has no official status except to assist and advise you in gleaning the facts.
Accordingly, it is our opinion and we advise that you do not possess the power under the Florida Constitution to review the judicial discretion and wisdom of a Criminal Court of Record Judge while he is engaged in the judicial process.
However, if the physical or mental incompetency is established and determined within the Judicial Branch by a court of competent jurisdiction, the Governor may use such judicial determination as a basis for suspension on the ground of incompetency.