A Most Disorderly Court.

• Author: Aguero, Matthew
• Position: Book review

A Most Disorderly Court

By Martin A. Dyckman

In what reads more like a novel than a history book, A Most Disorderly Court recounts a dark period in Florida politics and traces the reform efforts that ultimately led to a constitutional amendment providing for the appointment of all Florida's appellate judges.

Unlike today, when justices on the Florida Supreme Court are appointed through a system designed to exalt the qualifications of candidates, justices in the 1970s were elected by popular vote. That system, which required potential justices to be politically savvy and well connected, led to numerous scandals.

As the journalist who wrote most of the stories that exposed these events, Martin Dyckman played a key role in revealing the corruption, favoritism, and cronyism then occuring in the Florida Supreme Court.

Each chapter in A Most Disorderly Court reveals another layer in the seemingly endless string of scandals that had weaved itself throughout Florida's highest court. One justice retired after he was filmed on a high-roller junket to Las Vegas while others allowed themselves to be...