Friday’s unanimous rejection by the Florida Supreme Court of Renatha Francis, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Renatha, was a clear signal that Renatha Francis is not the rightful addition to the high court.
Governor Ron DeSantis appoints her in violation of the Florida Constitution. The court orders him to choose a new justice no later than Monday noon.
This decision means that there will no longer be any Black justices on Supreme Court for the first time since decades.
Representative from a Black state filed the lawsuit against Francis to block Francis’ appointment. He said that it was regrettable that the court would not have diversity. Rep. Geraldine Thompson stated that DeSantis is the only one to blame.
Six black lawyers had applied for the position, but the DeSantis-appointed judicial nominating committee rejected all of them.
Instead, Francis, a member conservative Federalist Society who was not eligible to serve, was the only Black applicant that they sent to DeSantis, Thompson, a Democrat hailing from Windermere.
During an afternoon news conference, she stated that many of us were insulted by the JNC’s and governor’s manipulation of a situation which would allow them to choose between ineligibility and lack of qualifications. As if to say, “If you want a person who isn’t qualified, you’ll choose an unqualified person.”
Friday’s three-page ruling by the Supreme Court reiterated the Supreme Court’s previous ruling that Francis does not meet the constitutional requirements for serving.
The Florida Constitution requires that justices have been Florida Bar members for at least 10 years. Francis, a 42-year-old Jamaican-born Francis will not reach that milestone until Sept. 24,
Francis withdrew formally from consideration after the order was published.
DeSantis was ordered by the court to choose one of the seven remaining lawyers who had been vetted. None of the finalists are Black.
DeSantis held a news conference this week to make it clear that he wants to see minority representation on the court.
Thompson stated that DeSantis had previously tried to diversify the court four times, but failed.
She said, “While our governor boasts his commitment to diversity,” “We are looking for action and not words.”
“We reject the suggestion of Governor”
The court laughed at DeSantis claims that it could not order him to choose one of the other nominees in its order.
The court stated that it rejected the suggestion by the Governor that the remedy infringes on the constitutional prerogatives of the judicial nomination commission by ‘taking the red pen’ to JNC’s certified lists.
It wrote that the JNC made the decision to nominate an ineligible constitutional candidate and is responsible for its consequences.
Thompson was represented by William Ponall, an attorney who said that he and Lisabeth Fryer were both “ecstatic” at the court’s decision.
Ponall sent an email stating that Ponall agreed with the Court and stated that the Court’s decision was required by both the Florida Constitution’s plain text and Court precedent. “We are also pleased that the Court provided clear guidance for future governors about the limitations on their power to appoint.”
The governor’s office did not respond to a request to comment on the decision of the high court. DeSantis also did not address the issue at Friday’s news conference in Miami.
Thompson said that it was a victory for all residents of the state. She stated that justices should not be chosen based on their views but rather their qualifications and experiences.
She stated that “the independence of the judiciary” is crucial. Residents of the state must feel confident that justices make decisions based on “the law” and not ideology or a political agenda.
DeSantis appointed penned ruling
Thompson was accused by the Republican governor of playing partisan politics in her appointment to a judicial position. Thompson denied that politics played any role in Thompson’s decision to file suit.
She said that she has served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives since 2006. She also stated that she was not opposed to any Supreme Court nominations made previous Republican governors or DeSantis’ four other picks.
Francis was ineligible, so she had to act.
She expressed her delight that politics had not played a part in the high court decision. Republican governors appointed all five justices who voted against DeSantis. DeSantis appointed Justice Carlos Muniz to write the opinion in which he declared that Francis’ appointment was a violation of the Florida Constitution.
DeSantis is a Harvard-educated attorney. She described himself as a strict constructist, which is a legal philosophy that many conservatives embrace and restricts judicial interpretation.
Thompson stated, “That’s what he was given by the Supreme Court with this case — strict Construction.” “This was a violation the Constitution as ruled the Florida Supreme Court.”
Francis is expected to return to the Palm Beach County bench. She has experienced a rapid rise through the ranks of the judiciary.
After she graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law in law, she was a clerk at the 1st District Court of Appeal. After graduating from Florida Coastal School of Law, she worked as a clerk at the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Daniel Norby is one of the partners and chair of the judicial nomination committee that selected Francis. He served as general counsel to the former governor. Rick Scott.
Scott was the one who ignited Francis’s judicial career. He appointed her to the Miami-Dade County court in 2017. He elevated her to the circuit court one year later.
She applied for the vacant Palm Beach County Circuit judgeship last fall. She stated that her husband had taken a job in West Palm Beach and she didn’t want her young family to be separated. In October, DeSantis named her to the Palm Beach County bench. She was pregnant in April and is currently on maternity leave.
DeSantis will continue to have the highest court all-white, but he has the opportunity to increase the diversity by appointing an African-American woman. This is also the first time the court has been made up entirely of men in almost two decades.
Four of the seven candidates are women. The candidates under consideration include: Jonathan Gerber, 4th District Court of Appeal judge; Eliot Pedrosa executive director of Inter-American Development Bank; Norma Lindsey, 3rd District Court of Appeal judge; Meredith Sasso (5th District Court of Appeal) and Jamie Grosshans (1st District Court of Appeal Court judges Timothy Osterhaus and Lori Rowe).