Editorial: Reject court 'consolidation' ploy as gerrymandering the courts

Editorials from The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board are the opinions of the Board, not of the Post newsroom.

It's been five-plus decades since anyone redrew Florida's circuit court district lines. So, forgive us if we're a bit skeptical of Florida House Speaker Paul Renner's request to the Florida Supreme Court for a formal review to consolidate circuit courts as "cost savings" and "greater efficiencies and uniformity."

Power grab" seems more like it.

Given that Gov. DeSantis has already stretched his authority in removing from office two democratically elected Democratic state attorneys, this new review appears nothing more than a smokescreen for something far more sinister. Having fewer circuit court districts means fewer state attorneys in politically suspect judicial districts.

If there were a better way to curb the number of state attorneys who hold different views on state law, we can't think of one. Consolidate by drawing more GOP-slanted circuit court jurisdictions in the name of judicial efficiency. Gov. DeSantis will no longer have to worry about the political fallout of another dubious suspension of a state attorney he can't control. Renner and the Florida Supreme Court will do the dirty work for him.

More: Retired judge: Don't let Gov. DeSantis gerrymander the Florida courts | Opinion

"Public trust and confidence in the judicial system are not won through cookie cutter consolidations," state Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach. told the Post Editorial Board. "Trust and confidence come from an assurance that politics is removed from the process, that elected officials are not meddling in the dispensation of justice."

The state has 20 circuit court districts, with many covering multiple counties. Palm Beach and three other counties that make up South Florida, by contrast, have their own, separate judicial jurisdictions, as does Hillsborough County in the Tampa area. Given that these same districts have been in place for 54 years, there's an argument to be made that a review is necessary, if for no other reason than to adjust for population growth or demographic changes. But, you'd have to be living under a rock to think that anything other than politics prompted Renner's push for change.

Last year, Gov. DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren, a twice-elected Democrat in Hillsborough County's 13th Judicial Circuit. DeSantis claimed Warren violated his oath of office after stating he wouldn't enforce state restrictions on abortions and surgeries for transgender children. The Governor followed that up this month with the suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Democrat in Orlando's 9th Judicial Circuit. She, too, ran afoul of the Governor for "... neglecting her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction."

Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution gives the Governor the power to suspend any state or county officeholder for "... malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony." The politics in both suspensions, however, are hard to miss. Both prosecutors represent Democratic-leaning districts and both drew the ire of the Governor and local law enforcement who believe that neither prosecutor had the tough-on-crime mindset to enforce onerous laws.

Putting partisan politics aside for a moment, the question of 'why now?' remains unanswered. Since 1969, Florida has had 20 circuit court districts. No one suggested changing the circuit courts when Republicans gained political power in the state more than 30 years ago. There was no talk of such cuts arose between 2007 and 2009 during the Great Recession, a time when dwindling state revenue resulted in big cuts to many state services. And circuit court costs certainly didn't come up last year when state lawmakers voted to expand appellate court districts.

On June 15, the same day Gov. DeSantis signed a record $116.5 billion budget, Renner sent a letter to Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlo G. Muniz, asking him to consider reducing the number of judicial circuits. With little fanfare and no real evidence supporting the change, Muniz appointed a Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee to study the need for circuit reductions and to make recommendations in October.

The committee's rationale for the reductions had better be compelling. Otherwise, the public is left with the obvious — a state government whose leaders are making another grab for power, this time by gerrymandering the courts.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida expands gerrymandering to state courts with consolidation plan