Have no clue who the new jurist is, one Edward Harold Merrigan, Junior of Sunrise, but I heard he had some pull as Jack Seiler's brother in law. That may be so and it may have been an in, but it does not render him unqualified. He may bring a great skill set to the bench. And we should not censor him for seeking an office he was entitled to apply for. Likely to serve in the north satellite.
Still, Merrigan is not a minority, a hispanic, a woman, a Cuban American, a Haitian American or one of the eminently qualified other final candidates who could have been so appointed to the bench. No, there should not be affirmative action. And you can't have a race in one year to catch up to the injustices of the past thirty. There just should be, however, a consistent attempt to fill the bench with diversity, and it does not end with the appointment of Judge Gillespie to replace Judge Dijols.
It ends when the Bench and the Bar administration better reflects the population of our community. And we still have a long way to go. The numbers remain embarrassing and hardly reflective of South Florida's multiple ethnicities or diverse populations.
The governor's appointment of Ed Merrigan, after the judicial screening process and the JNC did its task, may have been the most prudent. Time will tell. It would be equally prudent to continue to encourage more minorities in this very diverse county to reach for the gavel as a career as well. History has told us that.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment