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Impeachment Prosecutor New York Lawyer Canady, now on the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland, will replace Justice Raoul Cantero after his resignation takes effect Sept. 6. Crist has not yet filled a second high court vacancy. Justice Kenneth Bell also has resigned effective Oct. 1. Cantero and Bell, the only two justices appointed solely by Crist's predecessor, Jeb Bush, have been the Supreme Court's most dependable conservatives. Canady, 54, comes from the same mold. He made his conservative, non-activist leanings clear in his application by promising always to be mindful of "the limited role of the judicial branch in our democratic system of government." "I give my commitment to work as a justice to further the cause of the rule of law and to strengthen the system of justice through every decision I make," Canady said during a news conference at the Governor's Mansion. Canady, a Republican like Crist and Bush, was part of the GOP-controlled House's legal team that argued President Clinton, a Democrat, should be removed for lying under oath about his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. The Senate acquitted Clinton. In his closing argument Canady equated lying about the affair with lying about sexual harassment. "He sat there in the White House, and then he put on his most sincere face," Canady said. "He swore to God to tell the truth, and he lied." Later, Canady served as general counsel to Bush, who then appointed him to the appellate court in his hometown. Canady also once served as a state legislator. As Bush's top lawyer, Canady defended the then-governor's voucher program, which let children from failing public schools switch to private schools at taxpayer expense. The Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that it was unconstitutional. Canady also had a conservative voting record in Congress, including votes to ban gay adoptions in the District of Columbia, end preferential treatment by race in college admissions, establish voucher programs and restrict federal aid only to schools that allow voluntary prayer. "He is the kind of man that certainly will serve the people of Florida well," Crist said. "He is kind, he is compassionate, he is fair, he is brilliant and he'll do great." Crist selected Canady from five finalists recommended by the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission for an at-large position. He made his choice just a day after interviewing the nominees. Crist will select from three names for Bell's north Florida seat. Two more justices will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 next year. That will give Crist an unprecedented opportunity to appoint a majority of the seven-member Supreme Court in his first term. Cantero, who was born in Spain of Cuban parents, was the Supreme Court's first Hispanic member and Crist passed up an opportunity to appoint another. The finalists included Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga of West Palm Beach, a Cuban native, and Miami lawyer Edward G. Guedes, whose parents immigrated from Cuba. A news release from the governor's office, though, included praise for Canady's appointment from Cuban American Bar Association president Marlene Quintana. She said, "Like Justice Cantero, Judge Canady is an intellectual jurist with unquestioned integrity." The other nominees were Circuit Judge Kevin Emas of Miami and 5th District Court of Appeal Judge Vincent G. Torpy Jr. of Daytona Beach. Crist's choice also drew praise from Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson who said he hoped it would be "a sign of more good things to come" in the other high court appointments. However, it disappointed Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, saying the appointment of a "reliably ideological politician" shatters Crist's moderate image. "This is an appointment that could have and would have been made by Jeb Bush," Simon said. Nominees for Bell's position are 1st District Court of Appeal Judges Ricky L. Polston and Peter Webster, both of Tallahassee, and Circuit Judge Waddell Wallace III of Jacksonville. Bell, of Pensacola, and Cantero, of Miami, both said they were resigning to return to their hometowns for family reasons even though they are the most junior justices. Both were appointed in 2002. Canady said he plans to stay on the high court until mandatory retirement if voters return him to office. Under Florida's merit retention system, Canady will come up for a yes-no vote in the 2010 general election. If retained, he'll then come up for retention votes every six years. No justice has ever been voted out of office, but if that happens the governor would appoint a replacement. NY Firm
Grabs State Supreme Court By Julie Kay Cantero, 48, has been wooed by law firms around Miami since he resigned from the court in April, citing family reasons. He said his family was homesick for Miami after living in Tallahassee, Fla., for six years. Florida's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, Cantero was appointed to the high court by former Governor Jeb Bush in 2002. A Spanish-born conservative, Cantero was known to rule independently, as he did when he joined his colleagues in 2005 to unanimously overturn a law pushed through by Bush and the state Legislature to reinsert a feeding tube into Terri Schiavo. Victor Alvarez, executive partner in the Miami office of White & Case, said that the firm landed Cantero because it has a national and international presence yet also a strong Miami office. White & Case has been in Miami for 20 years and has 100 lawyers based there. The firm has 2,300 lawyers nationally in 27 offices in 25 countries. "It was a combination of our strong presence in South Florida and the fact that we are an international firm with a broad base," Alvarez said. Peter Prieto of Holland & Knight's Miami office, which had courted Cantero heavily, said, "White & Case is lucky to get him. He's the real deal." But Prieto added that, "we're lucky too. We have one of the best appellate lawyers in town heading our appellate practice, Rudy Sorondo. They would have made a great one-two punch." Before his appointment, Cantero was in private practice in South Florida for 14 years, specializing in civil and criminal appeals. He handled more than 250 appeals and more than 100 oral arguments in all five district courts of appeal of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court and several U.S. Circuit courts of appeals. His practice included administrative appeals to the Florida circuit courts from various municipal and county boards. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Cantero steps down from the bench on Sept. 5 and begins at White & Case on Oct. 1. Young
Judge Likely to Spark Firms By Alana Roberts "At this point I'm talking to several firms but really at the preliminary stage," the justice said. The high court's first Hispanic justice is being courted by such firms as Holland & Knight, Colson Hicks Eidson and Cantero's former firm, Adorno & Yoss. Attorneys with those firms and others say any firm would be lucky to land him. No one acknowledges making a job offer yet. Leaders of Adorno & Yoss and Colson Hicks say they have either spoken with Cantero or plan to in the near future. Susan Bass, a spokeswoman for Holland & Knight, would not confirm or deny whether the firm was speaking with him, saying by e-mail, "We don't give out that information." Another potential landing spot for Cantero would be Greenberg Traurig. Greenberg Traurig appellate shareholder Elliot Scherker did not say whether the firm is speaking with Cantero. "I don't think anybody would be in a position to be even speaking on that while he's on the bench," Scherker said. Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Arthur England, who is now a shareholder in Greenberg's appellate practice, said he is unaware of any conversations between Cantero and the firm. But he agreed Cantero's experience puts him in an exclusive group. "We've never sat down and talked about his joining this firm," England said. Cantero also was named by alumni as a possible candidate for dean of the University of Miami School of Law. And a source said he's been approached by representatives of Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad Law Center as it searches for a dean. But the schools couldn't offer the income Cantero could expect by returning to private practice after six years on the bench and a wealth of previous experience representing high-caliber corporate clients. Cantero himself has said he is focused on returning to a law firm but hasn't narrowed down whether he wants to practice in a plaintiff or defense firm or with a large or small firm. Despite his previous position as head of Adorno's appellate division, Cantero said he's open to other areas such as litigation, mediation and arbitration. "I'm open to ideas," he said. "Appellate would be a natural area to go back to. I've always liked to write, so I think anything I do will have a lot of writing involved." One indication of firms that may be courting Cantero could come from any recusals. Cantero hasn't recused himself from any cases decided since his April 11 resignation announcement. But he didn't participate in a May 12 decision denying a hospital's motion for clarification and rehearing in a case involving Amendment 7, formally known as the "Patient's Right to Know about Adverse Medical Incidents." He participated in a March 6 decision in the same case that allowed people suing for medical malpractice better access to hospital peer-review records. Cantero said he couldn't recall why he didn't participate in the May decision. Greenberg's Scherker and England are both involved in that case. "He would not or could not ethically be engaged in discussions to be hired by a law firm which has a case pending," England said. "Maybe he's starting to recuse himself from firms he's interested in." Mitch Bloomberg, partner in charge of Adorno's Coral Gables office, confirmed the firm is in talks with Cantero. "We've had conversations with him, but there's been nothing finalized," Bloomberg said. "I'm sure he's had conversations with other people as well. It's all exploratory at this point. I can tell you without any question we'd love to have him back, and I think anybody in town would love to have him. He's an upstanding and outstanding lawyer and guy." Bloomberg said Cantero is likely to garner a high salary wherever he goes but said money isn't likely to be the only consideration. He declined to comment on Cantero's financial prospects. "He's going to look at what firms have to offer," Bloomberg said. "I'm not only talking dollars, but in terms of atmosphere, in terms of the work they do, in terms of collegiality. All of those things are going to go into his decision." Ervin Gonzalez, a Colson Hicks partner, said he has talked with Cantero about his options, but the firm hasn't made a formal offer. "Justice Cantero is a good friend of mine for many, many years," Gonzalez said. "I've always spoken with him when there were important things in his life. He's going to do whatever is in the best interest of his family and himself." A boutique plaintiff firm like Colson Hicks would be able to offer Cantero a very lucrative option, but his salary would not be as stable because plaintiff firm compensation goes up and down with the contingency fees it collects. A full-service firm such as Holland & Knight would be in a position to offer Cantero a larger salary. Cantero has been branded a conservative but even lawyers who don't agree with all of his decisions say they respect his skill as a judge and as an appellate lawyer. Ask any lawyer in South Florida about Cantero, and you're likely to get a response like this one from Gonzalez: "Any law firm in Miami would be delighted to have someone of the caliber of Justice Cantero," he said. "He's going to have a lot of significant offers from firms. He's going to have the pick of the litter." Gonzalez said the fact that Cantero hasn't been in private practice for six years and lacks a current book of business won't stop him from obtaining a highly paid position with a law firm. He and others say Cantero's prestige as a justice and his highly regarded reputation as an appellate lawyer are enough to land him a plum position. "Almost every large firm has some appellate group, and they're going to be interested in that kind of experience and the cache he brings," England said. "The other group would be those firms that don't have an identifiable appellate capacity but have a large trial practice and want an appellate capacity." Justice Kenneth Bell leaving Fla. Supreme Court By Brent Kallestad TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Justice Kenneth Bell on Friday became the Florida Supreme Court's second conservative member in six weeks to unexpectedly retire, giving Republican Gov. Charlie Crist a chance to reshape the seven-member court. In a letter to Crist, Bell said he will return to his Pensacola hometown for family reasons. His resignation is effective Oct. 1. Bell, 52, has been on the court since January 2003. Justice Raoul G. Cantero III of Miami also cited personal reasons for his departure, announced on April 11. Crist now will have an opportunity to choose four justices in the next two years because two others, Charles Wells and Harry Lee Anstead, must resign in 2009 to comply with a constitutional requirement that judges must retire when they turn 70. "I think it's unprecedented that a governor would have the opportunity to appoint four justices, which would be a majority, within the scope of a year," Tallahassee attorney Stephen Grimes said. Grimes resumed his law career after retiring as a Supreme Court justice when he reached the age he calls "constitutional senility." Crist will make his picks in each vacancy from three finalists recommended by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission from the original field of candidates. Cantero and Bell were former Gov. Jeb Bush's only sole appointees and the court's two most reliably conservative members. Bush and his predecessor, the late Lawton Chiles, agreed on the appointment of Peggy Quince, who will become chief justice on July 1. The two resigning justices cast the only dissenting votes in one of the most politically charged cases of their Supreme Court careers - a 2006 ruling that struck down Bush's voucher program that let students from failing public schools attend private schools at taxpayer expense. As in the voucher case, Bell often was in the minority in split decisions including several that reversed death sentences. He also opposed decisions barring expert witnesses from offering opinions based on consultation with other experts and allowing people to wear clothing with law enforcement insignia as long as it's done without an intent to deceive. Bell was out of town Friday and not immediately available to answer questions. But he said in a statement released by the court that he was privileged to have served on the bench. "Indeed, I wish I could continue to serve," he said before adding that "family responsibilities require that I return full-time to Pensacola." Cantero, 47, and Bell were the two youngest members of the Supreme Court and are likely to earn far more than their $161,200 salary in the private sector. Bell was the 81st justice named to Florida's high court when he was chosen to succeed Justice Leander Shaw. Bell was the first appointed justice from west of Tallahassee since 1917 and the only current justice who had served on the trial bench. Crist, who was traveling Friday to Arizona to meet with presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain, said in a statement that Bell would be remembered for his firm belief in the separation of powers and America's system of checks and balances. "As a justice, he was always careful to respect the appropriate roles of the judicial, legislative and executive branches," Crist said. Bell's most notable opinion came last year when he wrote that local governments must get voter approval to sell bonds backed by property taxes generated from redevelopment and improvement programs. The unanimous ruling overturned 27 years of legal precedent and jeopardized billions of dollars worth of existing and future projects. Within days, though, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider and then clarified the ruling to say it applies only to future bond issues. The justices also excluded a type of financing widely used to pay for school construction, which had been included in the original opinion. The court also held a new hearing on whether voter approval should be required for future projects but has not yet ruled. In one dissent, Bell sided with two of the high court's liberal members. In the 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled people who plead no contest still have criminal records that can bring harsher punishment for future crimes. In dissent Bell wrote that no contest doesn't mean "I confess." Associated Press writer
Bill Kaczor in Gulf Breeze contributed to this report. Florida High Court in Crist's Hands By Gary Fineout
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