Charlie Crist To Remake State Supreme Court?

I've been meaning to comment on a post by Robert of Interstate4Jamming2 where he sounded the alarm on Tuesday about Gov. Charlie Crist being in a unique position to remake the state's highest court with ramifications that will reverberate throughout Florida for years to come. As he reminds us there is more at stake here than just the fact he can reshape the court:

"Not only will Crist be appointing a majority of the seven justices on the high court, he will have by then a majority of the nine-member Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission in his pocket. He has already appointed three JNC members since entering office, and three others have terms which will end this summer."

Though, as Robert points out, Crist's conservative bona fides aren't as sharply defined as his predecessor there is still enough concern to give state residents a reason to think hard about what might be. The most striking thing about Crist being in this position is how this will affect Floridians and the state court system. We must remember what the conservative view of "tort reform" encompasses: the restriction of access for the general public to legal redress through the state court system thereby sheilding state corporate interests beholden to the GOP from accountability.

This issue needs to be watched closely as the court descisions that would be handed down from these Crist appointee's has the potential to afftect our daily lives for years to come.