THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
FOUR NEW JUDGES COMING TO A COURTROOM NEAR YOU …
It’s been a busy time for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC).
There are currently four judicial vacancies in Miami-Dade County—one on the Circuit Court and three on the County Court.
CIRCUIT COURT
The Circuit Court vacancy was created by the elevation of Judge Thomas Rebull to the Third District Court of Appeal.
Governor DeSantis will select his replacement from the following six nominees:
Hon. Rita Cuervo
Hon. Jennifer Trautman Levin
Hon. Stephanie Silver
Hon. Miesha Darrough
Hon. Natalie Moore
Hon. Eleane Sosa-Bruzon
For those of you who emailed Captain Justice asking who didn't make the final cut, that list includes:
Hon. Michelle Urbistondo
Hon. Luis Perez-Medina (although he did make the County Court list of nominees)
Hon. Chiaka Ihekwaba
Several attorneys who are not currently on the bench also applied but did not make the final list.
Interesting tidbit: All six nominees are women.
The JNC considered a total of six male applicants. None made the final list submitted to the Governor.
COUNTY COURT
There are three County Court vacancies, created by the elevations of Judges Heloiza Correa, Elizabeth Espinosa Marin, and Jorge Perez Santiago to the Circuit Court.
The Governor will choose their three replacements from the following 18 nominees:
Shawn Abuhoff — ASA
Natalia Costea — General Counsel’s Office, Eleventh Judicial Circuit; former AAG
Aaron Feuer — Private civil practice; former ASA
Eddie Holiday — Private insurance defense practice; former ASA
Melissa Jordan — Private insurance defense practice; former ADA
Anthony Maneiro — City of Miami Beach Prosecutor; former ASA
Juan Perez — Too many lawyers by that name for Captain Justice to figure out which one
Jeffrey Pierce — AUSA
Alexander Shear — APD
Alexander Annunziato — Private insurance defense practice; former APD
Christian Dunham — AFPD
Kimberly Hillery — Department of Homeland Security
Scott Janowitz — General Magistrate; former ASA
Yvette Lavelle — Private civil defense practice
Cristobal Padron — Private family law practice
Hon. Luis Perez-Medina — Current County Court Judge; former ASA*
Patricia Salman — CABA Pro Bono Legal Services; former AAG
Annette Strauch — Captain Justice could not locate anyone by this name in The Florida Bar directory
Interesting tidbit: Of the 18 nominees, 13 have current or prior experience as a state prosecutor or Assistant Attorney General, while only three have experience as state criminal defense attorneys.
And then there is the interesting case of Judge Luis Perez-Medina.
* JUDGE LUIS PEREZ-MEDINA
Judge Perez-Medina currently sits on the County Court bench. Before becoming a judge, he spent 13 years as an Assistant State Attorney. Governor Rick Scott appointed him to the County Court in 2018, and he ran unopposed in 2020.
In 2026, however, Perez-Medina faced challenger Maribel Diaz in his reelection campaign.
He lost by just 565 votes:
Maribel Diaz — 110,589
Luis Perez-Medina — 110,024
Now, just weeks after losing his reelection bid, Judge Perez-Medina finds himself among the 18 nominees for one of the three newly vacant County Court seats.
If Governor DeSantis appoints him to one of those vacancies, Perez-Medina would presumably resign from the County Court seat he currently occupies through January 5, 2027, and accept a new appointment to the very same court.
Only in judicial politics.
The Governor has 60 days under the Florida Constitution to make these appointments. Based upon the date the nominations were submitted, that would make the deadline October 27, 2026.
And, as our loyal readers know, the words “constitutionally required” have occasionally proven to be more of a suggestion than a deadline in Tallahassee.
We’ll be watching.
Captain4Justice@gmail.com