While Sen. Marco Rubio is off courting voters in other states, he is ignoring a judicial emergency here at home. With each passing day, justice for Floridians is being delayed or denied while seats on the federal bench remain empty.
While Sen. Marco Rubio is off courting voters in other states, he is ignoring a judicial emergency here at home. With each passing day, justice for Floridians is being delayed or denied while seats on the federal bench remain empty.
That’s why we’ve been ratcheting up the pressure on Sen. Rubio around the nomination of Mary Barzee Flores to the Southern District Court of Florida. Nominated by President Obama, Judge Barzee Flores is not only eminently qualified, but as a woman and former public defender she would also add much needed diversity and a unique perspective to our federal court. Unfortunately, Rubio is playing politics with our justice system and is blocking her nomination from reaching the floor of the U.S. Senate.
The seat on the bench in South Florida has sat vacant for more than a year, and it has now been nearly five months since President Obama nominated Judge Barzee Flores, a former Miami judge with an illustrious career. The vacancy is classified as a judicial emergency, meaning that the understaffed court faces a growing backlog of cases, making timely justice nearly impossible for Floridians.
In recent weeks, we’ve worked with the Florida Why Courts Matter coalition to generate calls into Rubio’s office urging him to stop playing politics with the Barzee Flores’ nomination. Members of our coalition have made visits to his offices in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Washington D.C. Despite the continued pressure, Rubio continues to hold up Judge Barzee Flores’ nomination.
Take a moment right now and tell Sen. Rubio: enough is enough. It’s time to get Judge Barzee Flores confirmed without further delay.