In Deuteronomy 16:18-20, we read, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” (NKJV)
No other branch of government has done more harm to our nation than the judiciary. Since the early 1970s, voters in Florida have had the right to vote to retain or remove judges from office. Sadly, FL voters have never used this tool to remove bad judges from the bench.
One reason for this is that information on which judges rule justly and which justices pervert justice cannot be readily obtained. By prohibiting judicial candidates and judges from commenting on issues they may rule on in the future, the FL Bar Association has purposely hidden information from the voting public on what judicial candidates and judges believe concerning the rule of law, how the constitution should be interpreted and applied, whether all innocent human life is sacred, whether judges should be able to legislate from the bench, etc. As a result, most voters enter voting booth without any knowledge to make an informed vote.
Since courts in our country have done much harm to the rule of law, our constitution, and our rights, it is generally good to vote against retaining a judge unless you know he or she to be a judge that upholds justice. It is also sometimes helpful to look at which governor appointed the judge since a higher percentage of judges appointed by liberal governors will be liberal judges and a higher percentage of judges appointed by conservative governors will be conservative judges.
At FL Votes Values, we have researched the judges in Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal and make the following recommendations:
Fourth District Court of Appeal
Judge Alan O. Forst – Vote YES to retain.
Judge Mark W. Klingensmith – Vote YES to retain.
Judge W Matthew Stevenson – Vote No to not retain.
Judge Martha C. Warner – Vote No to not retain.
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Thank you for the insight, I have often gone to the polls and voted on a hope and a prayer that I was making the right decision. Sadly enough, my grandfather was a judge, but one of the very best.
I greatly appreciate the information, but I would like to know what information was found to base the recommendations on and where was it found?
Thank you,
Julie A. Montesano
Author
We researched the backgrounds of the judges up for retention and spoke w/ attorneys who work in the field to receive feedback from them on whether the judge’s rulings follow the law or not.
My sample ballot does not include these judges listed above, but lists Ciklin, Damoorgian, Gerber, Gross, Levine and May.
What about these judges: retain or not?
Lynn
Author
You are looking at the 2014 judicial retention page. You need to look at the 2016 judicial retention page: http://www.flvotesvalues.com/2016/10/24/2016-florida-supreme-court-and-1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th-district-court-of-appeals-judges-up-for-retention/.