Posted on 01/05/2019 8:43:32 AM PST by Jacquerie
A fiercely divided Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected a nearly decade-long lawsuit that challenged whether the state has properly carried out a 1998 constitutional amendment that called for ensuring a “high quality” system of public schools.
The decision upheld lower-court rulings and focused heavily on the role of the judiciary in addressing sweeping issues such as the quality of public schools. A main opinion shared by Chief Justice Charles Canady, Justice Alan Lawson and Associate Justice Edward LaRose said plaintiffs in the case failed “to present any manageable standard by which to avoid judicial intrusion into the powers of the other branches of government.”
Canady, in a concurring opinion, was more pointed, saying the “manifest goal” of the plaintiffs and three dissenting justices “is to put educational funding and educational policy firmly under the control of the judiciary.”
“The judiciary is very good at making certain types of decisions --- that is, judicial decisions,” wrote Canady, who was joined by Lawson and LaRose in the concurring opinion. “But it lacks the institutional competence --- or the constitutional authority --- to make the monumental funding and policy decisions that the petitioners (the plaintiffs) and the dissenters seek to shift to the judicial branch.
And there is not a hint of any manageable judicial standards to apply in making those decisions. Instead, if the petitioners and the dissenters had their way, judges would simply apply their own policy preferences.”
But in her dissent, joined by Lewis and Quince, Pariente wrote that, with Friday’s decision, “the majority of this (Supreme) Court fails to provide any judicial remedy for the students who are at the center of this lawsuit --- African American students, Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students, and students who attend school in poorer school districts or attend persistently low-performing schools.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sunshinestatenews.com ...
Bravo!
The 1998 citizen-ratified constitutional amendment is another example of why voters at the polling place have no business enacting statutes or constitutional amendments. When acting en masse, the people are insufficiently deliberative and demonstrably "feel" rather than think. Direct democracy stinks.
Agreed. The constitutional amendment process here in Florida has become the tool of the left to override the legislative process and get by amendment what they could never get by properly written law. This is not to say that the legislators are doing their job.
looks like Fla finally has rid themselves of the Rat hack majority SC that Childs put in. They were the ones who trying to hand Gore the election.
How about the citizen amendment that prohibits the FL legislature from considering politics when drawing congressional districts?
The amendment might as well have ordered the legislature to send the supremes a florida tourist map and a box of crayons so they can draw district lines themselves.
Just so we're clear about the underlying issue. The left, as always, is trying to mandate equality of outcomes. It has weaponized the lie that all differences in group outcomes are the result of discrimination, overt or (often) subtle and even unintended. It also continues to insist that all such differences can be eradicated if enough money is thrown at the problem. People on the receiving end of this money, i.e. the race hustlers and the educationist blob, can be counted upon to support this approach.
Since there are many reasons for differences in group outcomes, many of which are neither the result of discrimination nor amenable to public policy interventions, the left is demanding an impossibility. This is intentional, though it is important not to acknowledge the impossibility, because the real goal is to transfer power to activist groups and the courts. Unfortunately, it is not possible for any candidate to speak honestly about black academic underachievement and hope to win major office.
If I were running for office, I would take the position that we must stop categorizing people by race and start treating everyone as an individual, period. We should begin by refusing to collect data on racial metrics. Just stop. Go color blind. No exceptions. If we want to create compensatory mechanisms to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, fine. And as a practical matter, that would be in substantial part a proxy for race. But bottom line: get the would-be dictators with pigment meters out of the schools, institute full school choice to empower parents, celebrate excellence, and let the chips fall where they may, on an entirely color-blind basis.
A perfect solution? No. But since it's not possible to speak honestly about race, it's probably the best we can do.
Gotta remember that name so I can vote against her when she is up for reelection (never happens, though. They always get reelected)...
You dont have to remember. I believe that three justices (liberal) have terms expiring on the day that Governor elect DeSantis takes office. The justices term end on January 8. In the run up to the election, Governor Scott floated the idea that he could appoint three Supreme Court justices as they term at midnight, and the next governor is inaugurated at noon. This left a twelve hour window for the outgoing governor to possibly appoint three justices. Of course, the issue was with Gillum surging, there was massive pushback and in fact IIRC, there was a four ruling enjoining Scott from making the appointments. This is now moot as DeSantis will appoint 3 justices from a list of 11 conservative justices, and the Florida Supreme Court will hold a 6-1 conservative majority. The lame stream media is complaining, of course, that there will be no African American justices for the first time in 36 years, so among other reasons, this court will be illegitimate. It is unbelievable...
The names are familiar - the same justices that were there with their ridiculous rulings in the 2000 election.
You are correct sir.
This was passed prior to the FL change to the Constitution of 2006 which required ALL proposed amendments to the FL Constitution require 60% for passage.
The Left hates this and has been trying since to repeal the 60% rule.
A stunningly good decision from a court that can be kangarooesque. Thank God above the communist Gollum lost to DeSantis.
Tell me about it. Constitutional amendment through ballot initiative, largely funded by New York and Kalifornia billionaires, has done a lot to screw up Colorado.
So true. I look forward to consistent sanity from the FL Supremes.
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