The state Republican Party wants three Florida Supreme Court justices off the bench -- and they are moving to oppose their retention.
This year, voters will decide whether to remove Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince from the bench, or retain them. If voters decide to remove the justices, Gov. Rick Scott will appoint new ones.
Pariente and Lewis were appointed by former Governor Lawton Chiles, while Quince was appointed by Chiles and then Governor-elect Jeb Bush.
But the Florida Supreme Court has struck down some of the Republican state legislature's biggest bills.
Gov. Scott also tussled with the Supreme Court on several occasions. Early in his tenure justices ruled he'd overstepped his authority when he suspended state agency rule making procedures.
Florida adopted the nonpartisan merit-retention system for justices and appellate judges in the 1970s as a way of distancing the judicial system from politics.
Voters so far have never removed a justice or judge.
Pariente, Lewis and Quince come up for a retention vote on the November 6 general election ballot.
—————————————————————
The Associated Press contributed to this report.