Ex-Supreme Court justice backs ‘Grim Reaper’ who sued DeSantis over COVID pandemic orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne…
"A former Florida Supreme Court justice has lined up in support of a Santa Rosa Beach attorney who’s the focus of investigations after he dressed up as the Grim Reaper and sued Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to shut down state beaches last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic."
“It is my opinion and legal view that the lawsuit and appeal were not frivolous,” Lewis, who served on the Supreme Court for 21 years until his retirement in 2019, wrote in documents provided by Uhlfelder. “I submit this affidavit because it is my view that legal action,
the independence of counsel and requirements that lawyers be strong advocates are pillars of our democracy. The independence of the judiciary is also key to preserving our liberties and independence of counsel essential to our adversarial system.”
“When a citizen believes the governor is violating his constitutional duty to preserve the life and well-being of his citizens, he has the right to bring that claim before a court of general jurisdiction, and, if the trial court believes it cannot hear it but encourages an appeal
the Floridian has the right to seek an appeal of that decision,” the former Supreme Court justice wrote.
"Lewis and Benton, who spent 17 years as an administrative law judge prior to his appointment to the Tallahassee-based appeals court in 1994, also noted that DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic has sparked numerous lawsuits, including others that wound up at the 1st District.
None of the lawyers in any of those cases have been targeted for allegedly filing frivolous lawsuits, the former jurists said.
“I disagree with the view that the initial lawsuit and appeal were frivolous. I am making this affidavit because I think the independence of the bar is
“I disagree with the view that the initial lawsuit and appeal were frivolous. I am making this affidavit because I think the independence of the bar is
is one of the pillars of our democracy. Just as the independence of the judiciary is key to preserving our liberties, so is the independence of the bar (on whom the courts necessarily rely) essential to our system,” wrote Benton, who served 22 years on the appellate court."
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