Gov. Charlie Crist offered the following response to today’s Supreme Court’s ruling that he overstepped his authority by rejecting a list of judges to fill an appellate vacancy.

“While I am disappointed by today’s decision that the Judicial Nominating Commission cannot reconsider these important nominations, I respect the Supreme Court’s decision and their consideration of this case. I remain committed to ensuring that the diversity of the people of Florida is represented in our judiciary. In respect to the Court’s decision, I look forward to interviewing and considering the nominees for the Fifth District Court of Appeal,” Crist said in a statement issued shortly after the ruling was released.

The Florida Constitution trumps Gov. Charlie Crist’s demand for racial diversity among judges, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

It was the second time in almost a year that the state’s high court rebuked an attempt by Crist to overstep his authority. In July 2008, the court rejected a gambling deal Crist had struck with the Seminole Indians, saying he couldn’t let the tribe offer card games that legislators had outlawed.

In Thursday’s unanimous ruling, the justices said Crist has no power to reject a list of nominees for a judgeship, then leave the post unfilled indefinitely, as he has done with a six-month vacancy on Central Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal.

The opinion was written by Justice Jorge Labarga, a former Palm Beach County circuit judge who was entangled in a similar nomination scrap before Crist named him to the Supreme Court in January.

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