Turnabout

Seventeen judges in Palm Beach County were swept back into office Friday. No one filed to run against any of twelve circuit and five county judges. One attorney got a judgeship without a vote, no one else filed in that contest.

West Palm Beach attorney Robin Rosenberg became Palm Beach County's newest circuit court judge Friday when she was swept into office without opposition.

Rosenberg, who will replace retiring Circuit Judge Roger Colton, joined 12 incumbent circuit judges and five county judges who were automatically elected to six-year terms at noon when no one filed papers at the Supervisor of Elections Office to oppose them.

There will, however, be two contested judicial races in the nonpartisan Sept. 5 election.

The only surprise during the five-day qualifying period was that Judith Frances Sullivan, an assistant public defender, filed to run against previously announced county court candidate Theodore Booras.

Sullivan and Booras, an assistant state attorney, are vying to replace retiring Judge William Bollinger.

The other contested race is a crowded one, pitting three attorneys against Circuit Judge Art Wroble. The one-term jurist's opponents are Jerald Beer, David French and Ken Lemoine.

Having already hit the campaign trail, the three challengers point to Wroble's low scores in Palm Beach County Bar Association polls as a reason he must be turned out.

Also on Friday, the Palm Beach Post ran one of its peridoic editorials on why judges should be appointed instead of elected. It begins with a history of Art Wroble, probably the worst judge in the county, before the editorial gets down to business.

No matter how weak a judge is, however, the lawyers who finance most judicial campaigns often are reluctant to take on incumbents because the lawyers fear revenge from behind the bench. But Jerald Beer, a private lawyer in West Palm Beach who has the highest rating from his peers, has qualified to run against Judge Wroble. The qualifying deadline for judicial races is today.

In 2000, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that could have abolished elections for circuit and county judges in Florida’s 20 trial courts. Supreme Court justices and appellate judges already go through merit selection, in which nominating commissions screen applicants and recommend finalists to the governor. Merit selection also fills all trial court vacancies that don’t come up in election years. It isn’t a perfect system, but it doesn’t force judges to be politicians.

More important, it prohibits free rides like the one Judge Wroble got. Lawyer Robin Rosenberg, who as of Thursday is the only qualifier for another open circuit seat in Palm Beach County may get one herself. And while voters might like the idea of retaining the power to elect judges, they have less power under the current system. The other 12 incumbent circuit judges in Palm Beach County and the four incumbents in Martin and St. Lucie have no opposition. Under merit selection, voters could retain or fire them.

Elections are for politicians, not judges. And free rides shouldn’t be available outside of theme parks.

About a year ago I blogged on this very topic, disagreeing with Randy Schultz the Post's Editor of the Editorial page.

We can go tit for tat that there are bad judges out there, the system is rigged. But better allow the voters the choice to pick them particularly when people's rights can be taken away in a fit of anger. If you want I'll link you to my blog postings on O'Connor where the whole sordid Forbes affair is posted. You can also go to MiamiHerald.com and just enter the name of Eileen O'Connor.

Here's a reminder of who Eileen O'Connor is.

I've railed against judges here more times than I count. There are too many judges with no respect for the very law they help administer.

That said, I'm coming over to the Post's position on how judges come to the bench. Are you guys ok now or do you need a few seconds to gather yourselves from that shocker. The Post is sometimes right on local issues. Their blind partisanship and hardcore liberalism make us agree rarely on national issues.

Here is the Post is right with just one caveat. No one should get a free ride to get on the bench or to stay on it. They should come before the voters no matter what. Most judges will be returned to the bench, I'll grant that. But voters will have that choice.

Here's the caveat, if they are appointed, who appoints them? A nominatin commission sounds fine, except they're unelected themselves and human too. They can make a choice that's unacceptable or wrong-headed. If a elected official makes the appointment, politics will come to play in the choice.

So how do we do it? Commissions that make several recommendations to the Governor. Then that person is put before the voters for a yes or no? Maybe some of you have opinions on this. Share them in my comments section. I'm realistic enough to know no system will be perfect. We just need to have the best one in place. Right now I don't think the voters of Florida have that.

Open Post- Third World County, Bright & Early, Basil's Blog,