Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Private to public life
So I begin the transition from private life to public. Julian Dozier wrote in a letter to the editor in the Tallahassee Democrat today:
"While maintaining separate business and personal lives is certainly a healthy idea, those who serve the public must be aware that such service may not always be needed at the most convenient time." http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/editorial/letters/11942120.htm
He was writing about a County Commissioner's recent public outburst of temper, but he could have been writing about any number of aspects of public life. During the four hurricanes last year, I worked nearly 100 days straight without a whole day off. It was axiomatic that the service was inconvenient, but necessary. When I was young and enlisted in the Navy, we toiled on 12 hour shifts, six days a week, to keep aircraft maintained to support the Libyan bombings. Considering that young servicemen were dying in their barracks and in nightclubs from suicide bombers, it was also not a particularly convenient time to be on active duty. This morning, in a more mundane public/private life inconvenience, my kid was sick, my sitter had a grandchild in hospital and I'm working on a brief.
As I prepare to become first a candidate, and then possibly a judge, I am thinking about the changes I am making to pursue the next level of public service. Thinking about becoming a judge is something most lawyers do at some point in their career, and in Florida, there are two ways to become a trial court judge. First, and the method by which most judges attain the bench, is by appointment.
A candidate submits an application for a vacant seat and the application is reviewed by the local Judicial Nominating Commission. The Commission interviews candidates, and sends a short list to the Governor to select an appointee. Unlike the federal system, there is no consent by the Senate required. In some ways the process is little different from applying for a job, except that you are interviewed by a panel of about 15 people. http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes#A05S11
The alternate method is by election. Trial court judges are nominally up for election every 6 years, but their seats are rarely in peril, and trial court judges are routinely unopposed. From time to time, though, a seat is available for election. Next year, Judge Modisett will retire at the end of his term, and his seat will be open for election. The last time there was an open County Court seat, 8 people ran for it. So far, only one person has filed, I will not file until October, but I'm sure more people will declare as the deadline for commencing qualification by petition approaches.
Seeking a judicial seat by election is very different than seeking one by appointment. Appointment, while certainly intensely political, is simply not the same investment of time and money as an election. Even judicial elections have become expensive, there was a circuit court election in Jacksonville in 2002 where one candidate raised over $320,000 and the other over $270,000. In our own circuit, Judge Cooper raised over $70,000 in his 2002 election campaign. In the same year, Judge Francis raised over $65,000 for his re-election. By qualifying time, both were the sole candidates for their seats. http://election.dos.state.fl.us/
Keep in mind that neither Judge Cooper nor Judge Francis asked anyone for a campaign contribution. While all candidates must abide by election laws set out by state statute, judges and judicial candidate must also follow canons of ethics set out by the Florida Supreme Court. Those canons prohibit judicial candidates from asking for campaign contributions, but permit members of a judge's campaign committee to request for campaign contributions for the judge's or judicial candidate's campaign. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/ethics/index.shtml
So in order to become a judge by election, a judicial candidate must become a public figure, and is subject to both elections laws and the code of judicial conduct. For most of us mere mortals, such a move requires some adjustment.
Some are simple to do and not particularly onerous: brush your hair and glance in the mirror before you walk out the door. Some are harder to accept: The decision to become a public person is to be permanently subject to media scrutiny.
Penny Herman, who has been out of public office for nearly a decade, had the grave misfortune to run over her next door neighbor in her driveway. It resulted in a lengthy article on the front page of the local section. But for her involvement, I suspect the incident would have received less in depth coverage. I do not envy her situation, shocked and grieving, and the entire community knowing it.
Becoming a candidate and growing accustomed to being noticed in public and held to a high standard of behavior is just one step en route to becoming an elected judge. It appears that the entire process is the antithesis of convenience.
"While maintaining separate business and personal lives is certainly a healthy idea, those who serve the public must be aware that such service may not always be needed at the most convenient time." http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/editorial/letters/11942120.htm
He was writing about a County Commissioner's recent public outburst of temper, but he could have been writing about any number of aspects of public life. During the four hurricanes last year, I worked nearly 100 days straight without a whole day off. It was axiomatic that the service was inconvenient, but necessary. When I was young and enlisted in the Navy, we toiled on 12 hour shifts, six days a week, to keep aircraft maintained to support the Libyan bombings. Considering that young servicemen were dying in their barracks and in nightclubs from suicide bombers, it was also not a particularly convenient time to be on active duty. This morning, in a more mundane public/private life inconvenience, my kid was sick, my sitter had a grandchild in hospital and I'm working on a brief.
As I prepare to become first a candidate, and then possibly a judge, I am thinking about the changes I am making to pursue the next level of public service. Thinking about becoming a judge is something most lawyers do at some point in their career, and in Florida, there are two ways to become a trial court judge. First, and the method by which most judges attain the bench, is by appointment.
A candidate submits an application for a vacant seat and the application is reviewed by the local Judicial Nominating Commission. The Commission interviews candidates, and sends a short list to the Governor to select an appointee. Unlike the federal system, there is no consent by the Senate required. In some ways the process is little different from applying for a job, except that you are interviewed by a panel of about 15 people. http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes#A05S11
The alternate method is by election. Trial court judges are nominally up for election every 6 years, but their seats are rarely in peril, and trial court judges are routinely unopposed. From time to time, though, a seat is available for election. Next year, Judge Modisett will retire at the end of his term, and his seat will be open for election. The last time there was an open County Court seat, 8 people ran for it. So far, only one person has filed, I will not file until October, but I'm sure more people will declare as the deadline for commencing qualification by petition approaches.
Seeking a judicial seat by election is very different than seeking one by appointment. Appointment, while certainly intensely political, is simply not the same investment of time and money as an election. Even judicial elections have become expensive, there was a circuit court election in Jacksonville in 2002 where one candidate raised over $320,000 and the other over $270,000. In our own circuit, Judge Cooper raised over $70,000 in his 2002 election campaign. In the same year, Judge Francis raised over $65,000 for his re-election. By qualifying time, both were the sole candidates for their seats. http://election.dos.state.fl.us/
Keep in mind that neither Judge Cooper nor Judge Francis asked anyone for a campaign contribution. While all candidates must abide by election laws set out by state statute, judges and judicial candidate must also follow canons of ethics set out by the Florida Supreme Court. Those canons prohibit judicial candidates from asking for campaign contributions, but permit members of a judge's campaign committee to request for campaign contributions for the judge's or judicial candidate's campaign. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/ethics/index.shtml
So in order to become a judge by election, a judicial candidate must become a public figure, and is subject to both elections laws and the code of judicial conduct. For most of us mere mortals, such a move requires some adjustment.
Some are simple to do and not particularly onerous: brush your hair and glance in the mirror before you walk out the door. Some are harder to accept: The decision to become a public person is to be permanently subject to media scrutiny.
Penny Herman, who has been out of public office for nearly a decade, had the grave misfortune to run over her next door neighbor in her driveway. It resulted in a lengthy article on the front page of the local section. But for her involvement, I suspect the incident would have received less in depth coverage. I do not envy her situation, shocked and grieving, and the entire community knowing it.
Becoming a candidate and growing accustomed to being noticed in public and held to a high standard of behavior is just one step en route to becoming an elected judge. It appears that the entire process is the antithesis of convenience.
Friday, June 17, 2005
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