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Fence Mending

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

On Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Crist named Ricky Polston, a judge on the state's First District Court of Appeal, to the Florida Supreme Court, replacing Justice Kenneth Bell, who had resigned. Last month, Crist named former Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Canady, then a judge on the Second DCA, to replace resigned Justice Raoul Cantero.

The Polston appointment drew an immediate rebuke from the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. As a private attorney Polston had represented the state in court after the Legislature authorized "Choose Life" license plates. While general counsel to then-Gov. Jeb Bush, Canady defended the state's Opportunity Scholarships Program, which a major Democratic Party constituency, the state's teacher unions, hated. In 2006 the Supreme Court, with Bell and Cantero dissenting, ruled the voucher program unconstitutional.

In applying for the Supreme Court vacancy Canady, cited his belief in the "limited role of the judicial branch in our democratic system of government." Polston told reporters Wednesday, "I would not legislate from the bench."

Some of Crist's actions as governor have angered conservatives. His two Supreme Court picks should smooth many ruffled right-wing feathers. And keep watching: Two members of the Supreme Court's 2006 anti-voucher majority, Harry Lee Anstead and Charles Wells, face mandatory retirement in 2009.

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