Judge Fletcher was a former Miami County Attorney and the 3rd DCA's resident expert on Land Use issues.
Judge Juan Ramirez, now Chief Judge of the 3rd DCA was quoted by the Herald as saying this:
In matters of land use, ``his expertise went way beyond mine,'' said Ramirez, now the appellate court's chief judge. ``We miss him dearly when we get a complicated land-use case. . .He was a very persuasive colleague.'
Judge Adrien Stands out....
As the only incumbent Judge with two (2) opponents. The DBR article here notes that with 20 of 80 judges standing for election, only three (Adrien, Seff, and Walsh) have opposition, and Adrien is the only Circuit Court Judge with opposition. (Former Judge Jeffrey Swartz and former Prosecutor Samantha Ruiz-Cohen).
We make no bones about our utter disgust with Adrien as a Judge. We believe that in one sense he is the poster child for why there should be Judicial elections. On the other hand, if Judges were appointed for a term of years, renewable by a commission or an approval election, it's highly unlikely Adrien would be a judge to begin with.
Thus the issue of election versus appointment for judges continues to be a thorny one.