Outraged by the double speak coming from the head of the Supreme Court’s Judicial Nominating Commission defending Governor DeSantis’ meddling in a Brevard County judicial replacement pick, state Senator Perry Thurston (D-Ft. Lauderdale) on Tuesday issued the following statement:
“I am outraged that the head of the Supreme Court’s nominating commission would suddenly insert himself into the defense of a governor who appears to have blatantly interfered in the judicial nominating process.
“This is hardly an isolated incident. At the end of last year, members of the African American community – including legal professionals, lawmakers, and advocates, made repeated calls to both Governor DeSantis and the Judicial Nominating Commission to broaden the search for a more diverse group of nominees to replace the two retiring African American Justices on Florida’s Supreme Court – and we were ignored.
“To read in a story published by Florida Today that the same head of the same JNC is now claiming that it is ‘entirely appropriate’ for the governor’s office to ‘request more candidates…as a way to seek more geographic or ethnic diversity’ was beyond belief.
“Where was the same willingness to seek more racial diversity for Florida’s highest court? Or is racial diversity not an equal qualifier?
“Both the governor and the Supreme Court JNC should be ashamed. By defending the indefensible, any lingering semblance of impartiality or integrity within the judicial selection process has been severely damaged.”
