In its Oct. 27 endorsements on the Third District Court of Appeal retentions, the Herald Editorial Board noted that The Florida Bar’s biennial poll of lawyers was “one of the few ways regular voters had to evaluate judges,” and that the Bar “discontinued that important service after 2022.” On four of the five Third District Court of Appeal questions, the Board wrote, “we do not have sufficient information to make an endorsement.”
That information exists. Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade Bar Association sent its judicial poll to more than 18,000 lawyers in Miami-Dade County, the lawyers who practice before the Third DCA and know its judges’ work firsthand.
Results. The retain percentage counts members who answered yes or no. The no-opinion percentage is the share of all responses.
- Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, Supreme Court of Florida: On retention, 32% had no opinion, of those that voted, 71% yes, 29% no.
- Judge Thomas Logue, Third DCA: On retention, 28% had no opinion, of those that voted, 85% yes, 15% no.
- Judge Fleur Jeannine Lobree, Third DCA: On retention, 27% had no opinion, of those that voted, 82% yes, 18% no.
- Judge Monica Gordo, Third DCA: On retention, 22% had no opinion, of those that voted, 77% yes, 23% no.
- Judge Kansas R. Gooden, Third DCA: On retention, 43% had no opinion, of those that voted, 72% yes, 28% no.
- Judge Bronwyn Catherine Miller, Third DCA: On retention, 16% had no opinion, of those that voted, 65% yes, 35% no.
The Miami-Dade Bar does not make endorsements in retention elections; however, the results speak for themselves that our attorneys highly favor a retention for these judges. We publish the results as received, so voters have one more informed source before Nov. 3.
Bret Berlin, Executive Director, Miami-Dade Bar
