Crist Faces Tough Decision On Supreme Court Judge

In the next week or so, Gov. Charlie Crist faces one of the toughest political decisions of his tenure as governor: A Supreme Court appointment that pits conservatives in his own party against a minority community Crist is courting.

Religious conservatives and the National Rifle Association are backing 5th District Appeals Court Judge C. Alan Lawson, calling him the most qualified of the four candidates presented to Crist.

But some liberal groups and black leaders - including state NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze, whom Crist recently named as his minority affairs adviser - are ardently backing Seminole County Circuit Judge James E.C. Perry.

Perry would be the second black justice on the seven-member state Supreme Court.
Both sides have lobbied Crist, and he has strong political reasons for not wanting to alienate either side.

Crist has proclaimed his intent to make racially diverse judicial appointments, and he wants black and minority support if he runs for the U.S. Senate next year.

But at the same time, his relations with the conservative base of the Republican Party are badly strained, partly because of his backing of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan. An appointment conservatives don't like would only worsen that.

University of South Florida political scientist Darryl Paulson summed up Crist's dilemma: "Given his background, you would expect him to appoint an African-American," Paulson said. "Part of his success has been reaching out to African-Americans.

"But given the political situation, you might expect him to use the appointment to heal the wounds with the conservatives."

Crist has named three Supreme Court justices, two of them highly conservative: former state House member and Congressman Charles Canady of Lakeland and former appellate Judge Ricky Polston of Graceville.

Given Crist's overall moderate politics, Paulson said, those appointments appeared designed to placate the political right.

Crist chose his third appointee, Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga, after demanding that the nominating committees that choose nominees provide him more racially diverse choices.

Labarga, a Cuban immigrant and former public defender, was originally appointed to the bench by former Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. In choosing Labarga, Crist passed over former Jeb Bush administration official Frank Jimenez - a decision that disappointed some conservatives.

The next appointment could be Crist's last chance for a black appointee - no more justices are nearing retirement age.

Besides Perry and Lawson, the other two nominees for the appointment are Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson of Sanford and Orlando lawyer Daniel J. Gerber, known for defending chemical manufacturers against allegations of toxic exposure.

Perry is a registered Democrat but is a Jeb Bush appointee, as are Lawson and Nelson.

Crist will interview all four tomorrow and may name his appointee this week.

Asked Tuesday how important it is to him that one of his appointees be black, Crist said, "The overriding concern is always that you have people that are honest, that are ethical, that are intelligent that are compassionate ... and have humility. But obviously diversity is very important to me and that's why I sent some of those nominees back, so I'll be looking at that very closely."

Betting in political circles centers on Lawson and Perry - but choosing either likely would anger supporters of the other. Each side argues for its candidate partly by pointing to its political enemies' support of the other candidate.

The Florida Family Policy Council, a conservative religious organization, sent members an e-mail headlined, "Gay activists and Planned Parenthood publicly oppose Judge Alan Lawson and support Judge James E. C. Perry."

Meanwhile, the prominent gay rights group Equality Florida sounded its own warning to its members:

"The ultra right-wing American Family Association has begun to rally around Judge Alan Lawson ... flooding the Governor's office with calls, faxes, and e-mails. We cannot let the American Family Association decide the make-up of the Florida Supreme Court!"

John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council said the issue isn't race or any stances Perry has taken on issues, but simply qualifications. Lawson, he noted, is the only nominee with appellate court experience.

Conservatives have found a couple of points in Perry's background that provide them with ammunition against him - all of which, Perry said in an interview this week, are nonissues:

In 1972, after failing the Georgia state bar exam, he sued, alleging the state used rigged grading on the exam to discriminate against black applicants. The lawsuit was dismissed as baseless.

In 1995, a state Supreme Court grievance committee admonished Perry over a situation in which Perry's law partner mishandled a client's case.

Perry said his partner, suffering from clinical depression, took on the case without his knowledge and then failed to work on it. The client sued both lawyers.

Perry said he wasn't responsible legally but nonetheless borrowed money to pay the client a settlement to the client. The lawsuit was dismissed.

A letter from the grievance committee chairman admonished Perry, but called the matter "minor and perhaps unintentionally committed."

Perry said he's proud of his bar exam lawsuit. He said the state had a history of refusing to allow black students to become lawyers and began to allow more after the lawsuit.

"I couldn't prove it in court, but any idiot could see the results," he said. "At the time, there were 38 black lawyers in Georgia. "All of a sudden once we filed the suit they passed 50 in a year."

A North Carolina native, born in 1944, Perry said he went to law school after a stint in the Navy so he could work against racial discrimination in the South.

"I decided to go to law school the night Martin Luther King got killed," he said. "I didn't go to make money. I wanted to come back to the South, to work with the people, to change things."

Lawson, 47, a Lakeland native and Florida State University law school graduate, served three years as a circuit judge before his 2006 appeals court appointment. He and his wife, Julie Carlton Lawson, have two children.

Lawson said he didn't want to be quoted discussing the appointment process.

Perry, who has a long history of civic activities, is married to Adrienne M. Perry, chairwoman of the Education Department at Stetson University. They have three children.