An organization supporting three Florida Supreme Court justices facing merit retention this fall began running a TV spot Tuesday blasting the “politicians in Tallahassee” for looking to overhaul the court.

The ad, by Defend Justice from Politics, a political spending committee, is airing a spot in West Palm Beach, Miami and Tampa markets that condemn the push to defeat the last three justices appointed by a Democratic governor. The spot calls it a “political power grab.”

Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince are facing what is shaping up as the most vigorous merit retention fight in Florida history.

A small tea party group, Restore Justice 2012 began criticizing justices last year over decisions that blocked measures pushed by the Republican-led Legislature, but the billionaire Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity also recently weighed in with an ad attacking the court.

When the Florida Republican Party’s executive board voted last month to oppose the justices, that seemed to crank up the merit retention contest to a new level.

Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he has no problem with the GOP’s decision, although he steered clear of expressing any opinion about the justices being targeted. Another prominent Republican, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, though, said he was uneasy with the party stepping into the non-partisan retention fight.

Atwater said, “it wouldn’t have been certainly a direction that I would have recommended.”

 “We as a party hold certain principles and we look for policies and candidates who are going to shape those with the expectation that justices are going to just constitutionally use good judgment and rule,” Atwater said.

Here’s Defend Justices’ TV spot: http://tinyurl.com/9tmz9eg

The group pushing to oust three Florida Supreme Court justices this fall has a new video ad on its site blasting them for taking part in a 2003 ruling ordering a new trial for a Death Row inmate.

The 5-2 decision, which included Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis in the majority, was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Florida justices had ruled the defendant’s lawyer had wrongfully conceded his client’s guilt without his approval.

But the federal justices said such explicit approval is not always needed.

Jesse Phillips, president of Restore Justice 2012, which has posted the web spot, said, “The court invented a way to give a confessed murderer the second chance at life…Pariente, Quince and Lewis should not defend this decision. They should apologize for it.”

The web ad, which runs more than two minutes, is not likely to appear on television in its current form. So far, only Americans For Prosperity, a tea party-allied organization founded by the billionaire Koch brothers has run a single TV spot condemning the three justices, the last appointed by a Florida Democratic governor.

But the Florida Republican Party has said it will work to unseat the justices. On Monday, the Florida Fraternal Order of Police and Florida Professional Fire Fighters weighed-in supporting the three justices.

“The very foundation of Florida’s independent judiciary is threatened,” said Jim Preston, FOP president. “Partisan politics simply destroys the integrity of the court system.”

While decrying partisan politics, the unions sided with Democrat Alex Sink over Republican Gov. Rick Scott in the last governor’s race. The unions are also awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on a challenge to whether Scott and the GOP-led Legislature violated the state constitution by ordering 3 percent payroll contributions from government workers enrolled in the Florida Retirement System.

Jeff McAdams, legislative chairman for the police union, said Scott is behind the effort to unseat the justices.

Scott has denied any involvement, and McAdams said his view is “my opinion.” But McAdams said Scott would welcome a chance to appoint three new justices to the court.

In merit retention, in place in Florida since 1976, voters get to decide “yes” or “no” whether a justice should receive another six-year term. No justice has been voted off the court since it was introduced.

Television spots blasting the Florida Supreme Court over the federal Affordable Care Act are scheduled to begin running today in West Palm Beach and other markets, paid for by Americans for Prosperity, the conservative grassroots group founded by the Koch brothers.

Slade O’Brien, Florida state director of the organization, said the ads don’t directly call for voters to oust Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince or Fred Lewis, who are up for merit retention on Nov. 6. Instead, O’Brien said the “intent is to call attention to judicial activism and legislating from the bench.”

The Florida Republican Party said last week that its leaders have agreed to oppose the three justices seeking new six-year terms. Another organization, Restore Justice 2012, has been active most of the year to unseat the three justices, the last appointments of late Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, although Quince was named jointly with incoming Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

The AFP spots are the first TV ads aired in the campaign. The three justices have raised just over $1 million, combined, to defend themselves.

In its ad, AFP targets the Florida Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that upheld a lower court which stripped from the ballot a measure intended to block the federal health care overhaul from taking effect in the state.

The court ruled the proposed constitutional amendment was flawed because it promised guaranteed access to health care services without waiting lists, would protect doctor-patient relationships, and prohibit mandates that don’t work.

Opponents said the ballot summary deceived the public since the amendment did not directly address those issues, but was written solely to draw voter support against the federal law advanced by President Obama.

An effort to place the full text of the amendment before voters that year also was rejected. The Leon County Circuit judge who made the initial ruling, James Shelfer, said that to do so would amount to “legislating from the bench.”

A rewritten version of the proposal is now set to go before voters in November as Amendment 1.

Americans for Prosperity is a grass-roots activist organization founded by Charles Koch and part-time Palm Beacher David Koch.

The brothers, who run Koch Industries, an oil services company, back a host of conservative causes. Each has a net worth of $31 billion, which last week placed them fourth on Forbes magazine’s list of wealthiest Americans.

AFP on the national stage has run TV ads against Obama and provided phone banks, rallies and get-out-the-vote efforts central to the Republican Party’s takeover of the U.S. House in the 2010 elections.

The organization has fought climate change legislation and the Affordable Care Act, and push for limite

Supporters of three Florida Supreme Court justices under fire from conservative activists offered a civics lesson Tuesday in urging voters to reject the drive.

Former Justice Raoul Cantero, who argued a pivotal state pension fund case before the court just last week, said the nation’s constitutional separation of powers should shield justices from the whims of politics.

Cantero said courts should not be subject to “politcal pressure. It is to be a fair and impartial branch of government,” he said.

In a conference call Tuesday, Cantero was among several speakers from Defend Justice from Politics, the committee supporting Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. An organization called Restore Justice 2012, loosely allied with the tea party movement, is working to have voters unseat the justices in their Nov. 6 merit retention contests.

In merit retention, created by the 1976 Florida constitution, voters get to cast ‘yes’ or ‘no’ votes on whether justices should get another six-year term on the court. No justice has been defeated in a merit retention contest since it was initiated.

Lewis, Pariente and Quince, however, have been targeted as a liberal-leaning bloc by Restore Justice. The three also are the last justices appointed by a Democratic governor — the late Lawton Chiles — although Quince also was named jointly with former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

Dick Batchelor, another supporter of the justices, said conservatives should look to the Federalist Papers, another touchstone of American democracy, if they want more schooling in why justices should not be rewarded or punished for past decisions. “It’s really about raw politics,” Batchelor said of the campaign against the three.

Restore Justice last week issued a report card on the justices — giving each F grades on  a host of decisions issued since 1998. Included are a controversial death penalty ruling, business-related issues, and the rejection of Bush’s private school voucher program and a proposed ballot measure by the Republican-ruled Legislature that was aimed at blocking the federal health care overhaul in Florida.

Talbot ‘Sandy’ D’Alemberte, a former American Bar Association president, dismissed the analysis as a “very shoddy job.”

Former Sen. Alex Villalobos, a Miami Republican, said he also was concerned with “the amount of money coming into this election.”

The mismatch currently, though, seems to favor justices.

Pariente, Lewis and Quince have raised more than $1 million for their merit retention campaigns — almost all of it coming from the state’s legal community. The Florida Bar also is weighing in, launching a first-ever education campaign on merit retention, aimed at voters.

By contrast, Restore Justice has reported collecting $41,500 — all of it coming from Miami Beach doctor Allan Jacob.

Villalobos, though, said business groups and other court opponents have poured money into judicial races in other states at the last minute — a concern he harbors here.

“I hope I’m proven wrong,” Villalobos said.

A lawsuit aimed at barring three Florida Supreme Court justices from the ballot this fall has taken another strange twist.

The Southeastern Legal Foundation said Friday that it has been frustrated trying to serve subpoenas to 14 court employees as part of its case against Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. A Supreme Court marshal has refused to allow a process server deliver the subpoenas inside the courthouse.

After two days of trying, only two subpoenas had been served by Friday — to Court Clerk Thomas Hall and to Anthony Stella, a law clerk for Lewis, said Shannon Goessling, the foundation’s executive director.

Phone calls to the offices of staff sought to be subpoenaed for depositions in the case have since gone unanswered, Goessling, told the Palm Beach Post.  

“This has been the strangest experience,” Goessling said. “The server has told us he serves people all the time in state of Florida public buildings. This should not be a big deal at all.”

But John DeVault, a former Florida Bar president and attorney for the justices, said the foundation was out of line with its allegations. Justices have filed a motion for a protective order to keep them and staff from being deposed, along with another motion to dismiss the case as frivilous.

With such motions pending, “no reputable attorney would ever move forward with subpoenas,” DeVault said. The foundation “obviously wants to try this matter by press release because they know they don’t have a good case.”

The conservative foundation is asking a Leon County Circuit judge to decide whether the justices should be removed from the November ballot because they received help from court staff in completing their candidacy papers earlier this year. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation of the justices’ action determined that the assistance they received was “common practice,” and dropped the matter.

Judge Terry Lewis has scheduled a first hearing in the case for Aug. 8, when he will consider the motions already filed.

But court staff walling off the Supreme Court building from legal process servers underscores the power of the justices in the matter, Goessling said. Lewis has not ruled on any of the matters before him — including a bid to block the subpoenas of court personnel. Until then, process serving should go on as usual, she said.

In April, the justices were helped by court staff to complete their campaign filing papers just minutes before a deadline for judicial qualifying. Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, later steered Gov. Rick Scott to a section of state elections law which bars candidates from using public employees during working hours in the “furtherance of his or her candidacy.”

A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor. Scott then forwarded Plakon’s request for an investigation to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which completed its probe without recommending charges.

In an election year, it’s no surprise that the push to unseat the last three justices appointed by late Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles is heavily tinged with politics.

Plakon was the sponsor of a proposed 2010 ballot measure aimed at bolstering Republican attempts to keep the federal health care law from being enacted in Florida, a goal Scott shares. The proposed ballot language was ruled unconstitutional by the court, although the measure has since been rewritten and looks certain to go before voters in November.

The justices’ qualifying kerfuffle has been seized on by opponents of the three justices, already tarred as a liberal-leaning bloc by a tea party-linked political committee called Restore Justice 2012. The campaign is seeking to make the trio the first Florida justices ever ousted in a merit retention campaign.

Gov. Rick Scott weighed-in Monday for the first time on three Florida Supreme Court justices whose actions on candidate qualifying day are now subject of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

“They should comply with the law,” Scott said. “It’s the Supreme Court. You’d think they’d comply with the law.”

The three justices under fire, Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis, also are subject of a lawsuit filed Monday in Leon County Circuit Court. The suit, advanced by the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation, seeks to remove the three from the November ballot “if no documentation exists to establish that their candidacies are proper and lawful.”

In April, the justices were helped by court staff to complete their papers just minutes before a deadline for judicial qualifying. Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, later steered Scott to a section of state elections law which bars candidates from using public employees during working hours in the “furtherance of his or her candidacy.”

A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor. Scott this month forwarded Plakon’s request for an investigation onto the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has since begun a probe.

Plakon was the sponsor of a proposed 2010 ballot measure aimed at bolstering Republican attempts to keep the federal health care law from being enacted in Florida, a goal Scott shares. The proposed ballot language was ruled unconstitutional by the court, although a rewritten measure is expected to go before voters in November.

 The justices’ qualifying kerfuffle also has been seized on by opponents of the three justices, already tarred as a liberal-leaning bloc by a tea party-linked political committee called Restore Justice 2012. The campaign is seeking to make the trio the first Florida justices ever ousted in a merit retention campaign.

Gov. Rick Scott asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday to review a legislator’s call for it investigate whether laws were broken by three Florida Supreme Court justices who received staff help in submitting their campaign papers to state elections officials.

Scott said that because the Florida Constitution does not give him power to remove justices, he cannot order the FDLE action requested by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood.  But in a letter, Scott said that he was forwarding Plakon’s request to the agency, which can take investigate if ”it independently deems necessary and appropriate.”

“Like you, I believe it is important for the people of Florida to have full faith and confidence in all government officials — whether executive, legislative or judicial,” Scott told Plakon.

 The normally routine candidate qualifying by Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis played out publicly in April when the court took an hourlong recess during arguments in the state Senate redistricting case. That allowed justices to complete the paperwork needed for them to seek merit retention this fall.

With the help of court staff, the documents were filed with election officials only minutes before the deadline. But Plakon pointed Scott to a section of state elections law that prohibits candidates from using the services of public employees during working hours in the “furtherance of his or her candidacy.” A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Since then, the issue also has been seized on by opponents of the three justices, already tarred as a liberal-leaning bloc by a tea party-linked political committee called Restore Justice 2012. The campaign is seeking to make the trio the first Florida justices ever ousted in a merit retention campaign.

Dan Stengle, who is advising the justices on their merit retention campaign, said he welcomed FDLE’s review. But he also said he expected it to end quickly.

“There was no electioneering done here or anything that was illegal,” Stengle said. “There are much larger issues before the court to be talked about.”

Although the main assistance given justices by staff was in notarizing filing papers, Stengle and other supporters have said that action was simply ministerial. It didn’t equal campaign work, they said.

Plakon said he was prompted to request the FDLE probe following media reports about the justices’ qualifying. He said he was satisfied that Scott passed on his letter to the agency.

“They’ll look and evaluate if there’s enough out there to pursue,” Plakon said. “Otherwise, no harm, not foul.”

Keith Kameg, an FDLE spokesman, said the agency expected to decide “later this week on our course of action.”

With Gov. Rick Scott still mulling a lawmaker’s request for a law enforcement investigation, supporters of three Florida Supreme Court justices said Thursday no laws were broken when court staff  helped justices file qualifying papers with elections officials.

Attorney Barry Richard, who represented George W. Bush before the court following the 2000 presidential election, submitted a legal opinion to Dan Stengle, legal counsel for Justices Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and Barbara Pariente.

He denied that justices using court employees to notarize filing papers amounts to what opponents call a criminal misdemeanor. State law prohibits candidates from using the services of a public employee during working hours ” in the furtherance of his or her candidacy.”

“The act of affixing a notary seal to qualifying documents does not indicate that the notary endorses the candidacy of the person filing the documents,” Richard wrote. “It simply certifies that the notary has witnessed the signature and has confirmed the identity of the person signing.”

Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, has asked Scott to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to look into the controversy surrounding the justices qualifying.

The issue played out publicly last month. The court took an hourlong recess during arguments in the state Senate redistricting case to allow justices to complete their qualifying papers for merit retention this fall.

With the help of court staff,  the documents were filed with election officials only minutes before the deadline.

Since then, the issue has been seized on by opponents of the three justices, already tarred as a liberal-leaning bloc by a tea party-linked political committee called Restore Justice 2012. The campaign is seeking to make the trio the first Florida justices ever ousted in a merit retention campaign.

Plakon said Thursday that to him, the case was an obvious violation. “Every candidate learns early on, you don’t use your staff for anything political,” Plakon said. “No one should be above the law.”

But Stengle, the justices’ legal counsel, also advanced an additional level of defense. He questioned whether the justices are really candidates.

 “Florida’s district court of appeal judges and Supreme Court Justices are not elected, but appointed through the merit selection process,” Stengle said. “Every six years, they are required by the Florida Constitution to participate in the merit retention process so that citizens of Florida may evaluate their job performance. Any documents that they are required to file by virtue of their positions as appellate judges or justices to qualify for merit retention are part of routine court business.”

With three Florida Supreme Court justices facing a stiff ballot challenge, the Florida Bar announced Monday it is kicking off a $300,000 campaign to educate voters about the merit retention system for electing  justices and appelate judges.

Scott Hawkins, a West Palm Beach lawyer and president of the Florida Bar, said the campaign is not designed to promote Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis, who have been targeted for defeat by Restore Justice 2012, a conservative political campaign.

Instead, Hawkins said that in voter forums and other informational sessions, Bar members will attempt to educate voters about the benefits of merit retention, used in Florida for almost four decades,and also in place in 33 other states.

Hawkins said Bar polls show that 90 percent of Floridians don’t understand merit retention, in which voters get to cast a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on whether a judge or justice should receive another term.

“Fair and balanced information is essential for Florida citizens to make informed decisions,” Hawkins said.

Joining Hawkins at the event was former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew, who helped spearhead the drive for voter-approved merit retention in 1976.  “If not merit retention — what?” Askew said, adding that it has helped shield judges and justices from politicking.

Merit retention was introduced as a fix after a host of scandals involving conventionally elected, state Supreme Court justices.  Indictments, impeachment and accusations of tampering with lower-court rulings clouded the court in the early 1970s.

But with the three Florida Supreme Court justices up for merit retention in November already raising almost $500,000, this year’s normally quiet merit retention contest already is sparking fireworks.

 ”Today, the community which has injected an unprecedented near half-million dollars into the retention races ironically held a press conference to warn about politicizing the court,” said Jesse Phillips, leader of the Restore Justice 2012 campaign. “We agree that the vote is in our court, and look forward to November when responsible citizens will decide whether or not to retain the justices based on their record of decisions.”

Restore Justice has emerged out of opposition to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that stripped from the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at stopping the federal health care overhaul from being implemented in Florida.

Of the justices who joined the majority in the 5-2 decision, Phillips already unsuccessfully tried to oust Jorge Labarga and James Perry in 2010.  This year’s focus on Quince, Lewis and Pariente, though, appears better organized and may draw more serious financing.

The justices have raised close to $500,000 already for their campaigns. Restore Justice so far has collected $41,650.

Hawkins said it was important for Floridians to know how to assess a performance by a justice, who he said could handle 8,000 cases during a six-year term.

“Is it fair to assess a judge on onel ruling, or should you assess them on the 7,999 other cases they have touched?”  Hawkins said.