Former U.S. Attorneys Roberto Martinez and Marcos Jimenez have recently teamed up with former judge and GOP Lt. Gov. candidate Allison DeFoorto oppose an effort in Florida to remove three Florida Supreme Court Justices during this November’s elections. Being targeted are Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. While the merit retention vote occurs every six years, this is the first time there has been a serious push to remove sitting justices.
The campaign against the justices was instigated by the Florida GOP Executive Committee and has been bolstered by the financial support of Charles and David Koch, the controversial billionaires behind the conservative Super PAC Americans for Prosperity. The three justices have raised more than $1 million in campaign support while creating their own political action committee, Defend Justice from Politics.
Martinez, Jimenez and DeFoor have come to the defense of the justices, arguing that the Republican Party should not have weighed in on the issue because partisan politics has no place in the merit retention election.
Ultimately, many critics viewthe campaign against the sitting justices as a means for allowing Florida Governor Rick Scott to select his own replacement justices.
Read more about this developing situation at the Newsome Blog.