Bacardi Jackson is executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
A petition to force Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill a vacancy on the Third District Court of Appeal appears to be moot after DeSantis filled the post on July 10, but the petitioner still wants the governor to be ordered to stop blowing past appointment deadlines.
The ACLU of Florida filed the initial petition with the Florida Supreme Court on June 30 on behalf of retired Judge Kevin Emas, who stepped down from his position on the appeals court in March. The state constitution requires the governor to fill vacant judicial posts within 60 days of a judicial nominating commission providing a list of nominees to the governor, the petition said, but DeSantis did not fill the vacant post in that time frame.
In a filing this week with the court, Emas’ attorneys argue that DeSantis has engaged in a pattern of disrespecting constitutional deadlines to fill judicial posts.
DeSantis
“The governor’s website indicates he has already missed the constitutional deadline to appoint six more judges,” the petitioner’s reply to DeSantis’ July 10 petition response says. “Must someone go to court over each one? Respect for the constitution and a co-equal branch of government demands more.”
Emas does not dispute that the legal relief he sought from the court is now moot but stresses that the governor was 25 days late in appointing 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Thomas Rebull to the vacancy.
“His pattern of behavior is a slap in the face to the judiciary …” Emas’ reply states, adding that the conduct denies the courts a full contingent of judges to carry out their duties. “... Judge Emas respectfully requests that this court reiterate the importance of following the law.”
The retired judge also criticized DeSantis for not explaining to the public or the court the reasons why the illegal delay occurred.
“It may be too late to convince the current governor of the importance of following the constitution’s simple requirements like the deadline to fill judicial vacancies, but candidates to succeed him are listening,” Emas’ filing states.
A court cannot effectively serve the public interest without a full bench, according to Bacardi Jackson, the ACLU of Florida’s executive director.
“The governor’s refusal to act isn’t just an administrative failure – it’s a constitutional violation that leaves Floridians without the justice system they deserve,” Jackson said when the petition was filed with the Supreme Court. “It’s unacceptable that we must sue him yet again to make him do the job he was elected to do.”
The ACLU of Florida filed a similar petition last year when the governor failed to make a timely appointment to fill a vacancy on a Tallahassee-based court.
Critics say DeSantis regularly delays his appointment of judges to manipulate the timeline for when they have to stand for confirmation elections, thereby putting off public accountability for his judicial picks.
Neither the ACLU of Florida nor the Governor’s Office responded to requests for comment about the legal proceedings in the Emas petition.
In his reply, the governor’s attorneys said the petition’s request for a mandamus writ to force DeSantis to perform actions he is legally required to do is now misplaced.
“... A mandamus proceeding is not a vehicle to air whatever lingering grievances a petitioner may harbor,” the reply says.
