Calling it "manifestly misleading" to voters, Judge James Shelfer on Thursday blocked amendment 9, nicknamed the "Health care freedom" amendment by Republican members of the Legislature who voted for its inclusion on the November ballot. The measure if passed would put a ban on any future attempts by the Florida legislature to launch a statewide health reform plan.
State Democrats had denounced that vote, saying it was pure posturing on the GOP's part, and Judge Shelfer, who was named to the county bench by Jeb Bush and the Circuit Court by Charlie Crist, agreed (For Shelfer, it was the 2nd time in 3 weeks that he has thrown off a Republican backed constitutional amendment off the ballot. Earlier in the month he rejected amendment 7 from the ballot, ruling that its ballot summary failed to inform voters about its impacts on the redistricting process).
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.