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| Gayle Andrews circa 1979. |
Special to Rattler Nation
I began my career as a television news reporter in the
capitol in 1974. It was a historic
time. Huge changes were being made to the Florida government because of scandals that had threatened to paralyze state government and
the judiciary.
Here’s how it went. Three cabinet members, the comptroller,
the insurance and education commissioners - all statewide elected officials -
were indicted for serious wrongdoing. Next to desegregation, this was easily
one of the most chaotic times in our state’s history.
Remarkably, the Supreme Court scandal involving three
justices erupted at the same time. It was an “oh no” moment. There was a
rationale for the Cabinet meltdown, but to watch the high court sinking into
the political corruption abyss, honestly, was just too much.
We reporters were pretty obnoxious with our TV cameras and
microphones pointed in officials’ faces. Our lights blinded the cabinet
officers as we trapped them in elevators. And finally, we watched them teary
eyed in the courtroom being sentenced while begging for forgiveness and
leniency. But the Supreme Court
impeachment hearings took us to a different place. It made us realize that political influence
and money had permeated a realm that, up until this point, was no place for
politics.
Two justices were accused of using opinions written by
utility lawyers. The third was accused
of the same but he claimed he flushed the document down the toilet. For that justice, a psychiatric examination
was ordered. He returned to the House
committee with his Certificate of Sanity. That episode only added to the rapid
deterioration of the court’s once revered status. I was a very young reporter at the time, but
I realized that this was very serious.
Political influence had seeped into the state’s highest court and corroded the process and judicial outcomes. Big changes would emerge affecting the appointment of judges, and how they would campaign. It was ushered in by Gov. Reubin Askew who helped restore faith in the process of selecting and electing judges in Florida. The change was called merit retention. It is the process we use today of voting yes or no for justices and judges.
Gov. Rick Scott and other Republican lawmakers have tried
unsuccessfully to gain greater control over the high court largely because the
court has struck down many of the new laws Scott has signed. But the latest attempt to undermine merit
retention comes in the form of the kind of political influence peddling that
nearly destroyed this very important part of our democracy.
The Republican Party of Florida went even further with its
meddling by asking people to vote against Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente, and
Peggy Quince, the first black female justice. These justices have been
impartial and forthright when reviewing cases that are very important to
Floridians. They have done their job well and should receive a yes vote.
For us to follow the Republican Party that engaged in voter
suppression and now wants to control judicial decisions, would take us back to
a pay-to-play system. It has no place in
the Florida Supreme Court and defies the thing we treasure most and that’s
equal justice.
Gayle Andrews is a former member of the Capitol Press Corps
and adjunct journalism instructor at FAMU. FAMU awarded her Distinguished and
Outstanding Graduate status. She is a
corporate and political consultant in Tallahassee, Fla.