The Florida Supreme Court is blocking a request that a justice recuse herself from a high profile case. A day after the League of Women Voters countered accusations that Justice Barbara Pariente was politicking from the bench, the state's highest court has agreed: there's no there there.
The state’s highest court will not disqualify Justice Barbara Pariente from a case. That’s despite the governor’s arguments that she’s biased against him. She and Chief Justice George Labarga were recorded speaking on a hot mic about judicial appointments.
The case in question could determine the future political leanings of the court, and Pariente’s own successor hangs in the balance. The terms of Pariente and two of her colleagues expire on the same day as Governor Rick Scott’s. Still, he argues he has the right to make last minute appointments before the next governor takes office.
With a full seven member court on the case, a potential deadlock decision is avoided.
