Opinion ID: 4560708
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Supreme Court JNC Exceeded Its Authority

Text: Pursuant to article V, section 11 of the Florida Constitution, “[u]niform rules of procedure shall be established by the judicial nominating commissions at each level of the court system.” (Emphasis added.)8 Consistent with its constitutional mandate, the Supreme Court JNC established rules of procedure which in relevant part, state as follows: “Within a reasonable time after the deadline for applications, the Commission shall meet to consider the applicants and to select applicants for 8. Article V, section 11(d) provides for a Supreme Court JNC, a JNC for each of Florida’s five district courts of appeal, and a JNC for each of Florida’s twenty judicial circuits. - 16 - further investigation and consideration. No person shall be selected for further investigation and consideration who does not meet all legal requirements for the office to be filled.” Section II, Initial Screening, Supreme Court Nominating Commission Rules (emphasis added). Moreover, “no applicant shall be nominated to the Governor or to the Attorney General for appointment unless the Commission finds the applicant to be fit for appointment after full and careful consideration. The Commission’s consideration of applicants for appointment shall include . . . [a]pplicable constitutional and statutory criteria.” Section V(a), Standards and Qualifications; Criteria, Supreme Court Nominating Commission Rules (emphasis added). As the Supreme Court JNC carries out its role in nominating applicants to fill a vacancy in the office of justice of this Court, it cannot do so in a manner that is irrespective of the Governor’s duty to appoint a constitutionally eligible candidate. Under article V, section 11(a) of the Florida Constitution, “the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointing . . . one of not fewer than three persons nor more than six persons nominated by the appropriate judicial nominating commission.” “No person is eligible for the office of justice of the supreme court or judge of a district court of appeal unless the person is, and has been for the preceding ten years, a member of the bar of Florida.” Art. V, § 8, Fla. Const. (emphasis added). - 17 - Because the Governor’s appointee must satisfy this minimal eligibility requirement, the Supreme Court JNC is obligated to nominate only individuals who fulfill the requirement. A nominee must be constitutionally eligible at the time of nomination. The reason for this is clear: while the Governor has up to sixty days to fill the vacancy, the Governor does not have to utilize that entire time period. Each nominee must be immediately ready to fill the vacancy. On January 23, 2020—the date that the Supreme Court JNC certified its list of nominees to the Governor—not only was Judge Francis constitutionally ineligible to fill a vacancy on this Court, fully eight months remained until she would meet the ten-year requirement. As a result, the Supreme Court JNC’s nomination exceeded its authority. Not only is this interpretation consistent with article V, it is consistent with how the members of Florida’s JNCs are educated regarding the constitutional eligibility of appellate court applicants. During a training session mere weeks before the Lagoa and Luck vacancies occurred, one of the panel members acknowledged the “bar” of ten years to be eligible to serve as an appellate court judge in Florida. See Judicial Nominating Commission Training, at the 2:07:37 mark, available at www.thefloridachannel.org/videos/10-21-19-judicialnominating-commission-training/, last visited August 21, 2020. - 18 - Thus, although the majority concludes that Thompson’s Supreme Court JNC claims were untimely, it is nonetheless clear that the Supreme Court JNC also exceeded its authority in nominating a constitutionally ineligible applicant.