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2nd District Court of Appeal

Six of the 14 judges on the 2nd District Court of Appeal face retention votes in November.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 31, 2002

Six of the 14 judges who serve on the 2nd District Court of Appeal face merit retention votes in the November general election.

A recent poll of lawyers by the Florida Bar shows that an overwhelming majority favor retaining all the appellate judges.

In the merit retention process, the judges face no opposition, and the voting is nonpartisan. People vote for or against retention of each judge separately.

No District Court of Appeal judge has ever been booted from office in a statewide merit retention vote.

The judges up for merit retention are:

Altenbernd

Fulmer

Parker

Whatley

Chris W. Altenbernd, 53, was appointed to the appeals court in 1989 by former Gov. Bob Martinez. He was first trained as a carpenter by his father. He earned his law degree in 1975 from Harvard University and a master's in judicial process in 1998 from the University of Virginia. Virginia Hernandez Covington, 47, was appointed in 2001 by Gov. Jeb Bush . Covington, whose mother left Cuba in 1953, is a former federal prosecutor and former chief of the asset forfeiture section of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa. She earned her law degree in 1980 from Georgetown University.

Carolyn K. Fulmer, 55, was appointed in 1994 by the late Gov. Lawton Chiles. She previously served as a circuit judge for about 11 years. Fulmer earned her law degree in 1975 from Florida State University.

Jerry R. Parker, 62, was appointed in 1988 by Martinez. He worked stints as a Pinellas-Pasco prosecutor, a Pinellas County judge, a circuit judge and an FBI agent. Parker earned his law degree in 1966 from the University of Oklahoma. Morris Silberman, 45, was appointed in 2000 by Bush. He is a former president of the Clearwater Bar Association and is married to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Nelly Khouzam. Silberman earned his law degree in 1982 from the University of Florida.

James W. Whatley, 55, was appointed in 1995 by Chiles. He is a former circuit judge and has participated in classes and programs at Stetson University. Whatley earned his law degree in 1972 from the University of Miami.

THE JOB

The 2nd District Court of Appeal is based in Lakeland and includes Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota counties. Judges hear criminal and civil appeals from state courts in those counties. They are paid $141,963 a year.

Campaign 2002