Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, and Peggy Quince are widely considered to be three of the more left-leaning members of the court. They are required to leave January 8, the same day that Florida’s next governor is set to be sworn in, because they will have met the state’s mandatory retirement age. Florida’s Constitution requires justices to retire at age 70 or shortly after, depending on where they are in their terms.
If Scott is able to pick their replacements, Pariente, Lewis, & Quince's successors could spur a rightward shift in the seven-member court.
Scott who’s term in office ends on January 7, 2019, is asserting that he has a right to appoint the new justices. Common Cause and the Florida League of Women Voters have filed suit in the Florida Supreme Court urging it to rule that the next governor, not Scott, is constitutionally authorized to make the appointments.
With Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor, consistently leading Republican candidate Ron DeSantis in the polls, Scott asked the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) in September to begin the process of accepting applications, interviewing candidates, and making nominations for appointment. The JNC will have 60 days to complete the process. The commissionors are expected to make nominations right after the November election.
Further complicating this situation is the fact that Scott is running for U.S. Senate. If he wins he would be forced to step down on January 3, 2019, four days before the new governor is sworn in.