Our system of government has remained balanced due to the independent judicial system where Judges are not subject to political pressures or to a dictator, king or ruler who requires them to make decisions in a particular way. If you vote “yes” for Amendment 3, you are allowing the Governor of Florida to appoint a Judge and to replace a current Judge whose term has not yet expired. In some cases, this would allow the Governor to appoint a replacement years before the sitting Judge’s term expires.
In Florida, Judges are required to retire at the age of 70. If Amendment 3 passes, the current Governor would be allowed to appoint a Judge’s replacement while the Judge continues to sit on the bench several years before retirement or before another election was held. This could be seen as a political move and could be viewed as not a good move for Florida and not good for maintaining the independence of the judiciary. Prospective appointment of Judges is not looked on favorably. A Governor could make appointments of Judges and Justices based on a bias. This can create future problems for the legislature and future Governors.
This new Amendment was proposed by the Florida Legislature due to the fact that in 2019, three Florida Supreme Court Justices will be required to retire because they will be reaching the age of 70. At this time, it is not known how many other Judges from County Court, Circuit Court and other Appellate Court Judges would be affected as well. The other issue that could arise is that if the prospective appointee is not able to take the judicial appointment, the process has to start all over for that appointment. This results in the waste of additional tax dollars.
Maintaining the independence of the judicial system is critical to maintaining the system of government. This society has remained strong and free because of the current system of government which includes an independent judiciary. Governors and Presidents have for years appointed Judges, but never has a Governor or a President prospectively appointed a Judge or Supreme Court Justice before the sitting Judge left the bench. It can be viewed that there is no good reason to prospectively appoint Judges except for politics.
If you agree with this and do not want the judicial system to be subjected to this, vote “no” to Amendment 3. By voting against Amendment 3, it keeps the judicial system independent.
Read the full text of Amendment 3 here.