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Crist Appoints Perry To Florida Supreme Court

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune
and WILLIAM MARCH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 11, 2009

Updated: 03/11/2009 04:08 pm

TALLAHASSEE - In a move that angered some conservatives but could please minority supporters, Gov. Charlie Crist has named Circuit Judge James Perry of Sanford to the Florida Supreme Court.

Conservative interest groups including the National Rifle Association, the Florida Family Policy Council and Florida Right to Life had advocated 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alan Lawson, calling him more qualified.

Perry, 65, a registered Democrat with a history of community involvement and occasional involvement in civil rights litigation, was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2000.

Some of the groups who backed Lawson charged that Crist was seeking to win black support for next year's U.S. Senate race. Crist has said he's considering running for the Senate instead of running for re-election.

"It's a politically calculated move," said Adam Goldman, legislative vice president of Florida Right to Life. "Gov. Crist really is taking a risk. I'm sure there's going to be a primary for the Senate race, and he's not doing himself any favors."

John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council called Crist's decision, "stunning and profoundly disappointing."

"He missed a real opportunity not only to appoint the most qualified candidate, but also to bring the court back into ideological balance," Stemberger said.

But state NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze, whom Crist recently named his minority affairs adviser, said she had strongly recommended Perry for the appointment in several conversations with Crist.

"It certainly is a great day in Florida," she said. "All Floridians ought to be proud that our Supreme Court can now begin to reflect the actual people who reside here. We applaud the governor's decision."

Besides the NAACP, other liberal interest groups had backed Perry.

Neither side cited specific judicial decisions or issue stances by the judges in their arguments. Instead, they focused on qualifications, and on the opposing interest groups' support of the other candidate.

Conservatives argued that Lawson's appellate court experience made him a better choice, and that gay rights and other groups were supporting Perry.

Liberals said conservative groups shouldn't influence the appointment, and argued that Perry's personal history, including civil rights work, extensive involvement in youth sports and other civic activity constituted valuable "life experience."

Announcing the decision Wednesday, Crist said he made the appointment without regard to politics.

"I don't even know the party that those whom I've appointed belong to," he said.

But he acknowledged that racial diversity was part of his decision.

"We have a very diverse state. And I think it's important that our court understands all the perspectives that make Florida such a beautiful place to live."

He praised Perry as "a man who is humble – a man from rural roots in North Carolina, a generous heart, a dedicated hard-working man who truly believes in justice."

"When I interviewed the justice, I saw his heart," Crist said. "And I saw a man who had great compassion, great intellect, cared about people first and foremost, and it touched me."

Perry described his judicial philosophy as apolitical.

"I realize there were some people against me, and hopefully, I will win them over," he said.

He said he was appointed "because I was imminently qualified, by education, experience, background, wisdom, judgment, intellect, et cetera," not because of race.

And he said diversity doesn't mean just race. "People with different lifetime experience … have a different perspective on things."

Perry, a North Carolina native and 1972 Columbia University Law School graduate, worked for an economic development corporation in Seminole County's black community before going into private practice at several Central Florida firms.

Bush's appointment made him the 18th Judicial Circuit's first black judge.

He becomes the second black justice on the current Supreme Court. Chief Justice Peggy Quince is black, and the Supreme Court has one other female, Justice Barbara Pariente, and one Hispanic, Justice Jorge Labarga.

Perry will be the fourth black justice in the state's history.

He is married to Adrienne M. Perry, a Stetson University professor; they have three grown children.

This was Crist's fourth appointment to the seven-member Supreme Court.

Two of his previous appointees were white, and pleasing to conservatives; one was Hispanic.

With no more justices scheduled to retire soon, this may have been the last chance for Crist to name a black justice.

In his 2006 campaign for governor, Crist built unprecedented black voter support for a Florida Republican in a statewide race with an estimated 18 percent of the black vote.

In an interview Wednesday, Lawson said he was "personally disappointed, but I like Jim Perry a lot and I'm sure he will work hard to carry out his duties with distinction and honor."

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