The stage was set Monday for a bruising legal battle over the selection of a Palm Beach County judge when Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner made it clear that Gov. Rick Scott, not voters, should pick the jurist.
In a 2½-page letter, Detzner told Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher to back off plans to let lawyers file papers to run for the county court seat that Judge Laura Johnson is leaving so she can run for circuit judge. The letter arrived hours after the start of the weeklong period for judicial candidates to qualify for the Aug. 30 election.