Martin A. Dyckman – författare

Reubin Askew was swept into the governor’s office in 1970 as part of a remarkable wave of progressive politics and legislative reform in Florida. A man of uncompromising principle and independence, he was elected primarily on a platform of tax reform.

In the years that followed, Askew led a group of politicians from both parties who sought—and achieved—judicial reform, redistricting, busing and desegregation, the end of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the Sunshine Amendment, and much more.

This period was truly a golden age of Florida politics, and Martin Dyckman’s narrative is well written, fast paced, and reads like a novel. Dyckman also reveals how the return of special interests, the rise of partisan politics, unlimited campaign spending, term limits, gerrymandering, and more have eroded the achievements of the Golden Age in subsequent decades.

In the 1970s, justices on the Florida Supreme Court were popularly elected. But a number of scandals threatened to topple the court until public outrage led to profound reforms and fundamental changes in the way justices were seated.

One justice abruptly retired after being filmed on a high-roller junket to Las Vegas. Two others tried to fix cases in lower courts on behalf of campaign supporters. A fourth destroyed evidence by shredding his copy of a document into "seventeen equal" strips of paper that he then flushed down a toilet.

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 rampant in the court.

A Most Disorderly Court recounts this dark period in Florida politics, when stunning revelations regularly came to light. He also traces the reform efforts that ultimately led to a constitutional amendment providing for the appointment of all Florida''s appellate judges, and emphasizes the absolute importance of confidential sources for journalists.