SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE?????
*Rump - one correction. Bloom also joins another recent colleague from the County bench, Judge Bronwyn Miller, who was the most recent Judge to move from County to Circuit. *
Judge Friedman has tendered his resignation and 16 have submitted applications (6 of which are County Court Judges) to the JNC for consideration.
The JNC will conduct interviews and send up to six names to the Governor.
Early Prediction. While most readers will assume that Gayles, Walsh and White-Labora will have the best chance of getting selected, given the fact that all three have been on the short short list the last few times up, watch the name Yolly Roberson very closely.
Roberson was born in Haiti and is both a nurse and a lawyer. She served in the Florida House for the past eight years. She ran, unsuccessfully, for the US House of Representatives in 2010, after she was term limited from the State House. She lost in a nine candidate Democratic primary to State Senator Fredricka Wilson. (Wilson's lone opponent in the general election is the GJB's own Rod Vereen).
What you need to know is that Yolly Roberson was one of the first elected Democrats to publicly voice their support for Senate Candidate Charlie Crist. Don't be shocked if it's Roberson that gets the appointment and that Crist makes it before he leaves office.
Interesting note on this appointment. The choice for the next Circuit Court Judge could be made by Governor Crist (if done before his term expires), by the new Governor (if the names are sent from the JNC after November 3rd), or possibly, both Crist and the Gov. Elect may choose to collaborate on the choice.
There is precedent for this, albeit, it was for a Supreme Court seat. In December of 1998, Gov. Chiles was a lame duck and Gov. Bush was our Gov. Elect. They chose to make a joint selection for the open seat on the Florida Supreme Court and they chose Justice Peggy Quince. Actually, three Governors were involved in the selection. Why? Because after the decision was made by Chiles & Bush, but before Chiles could sign the official Order, he died. So, Governor Buddy McKay actually signed Quince's Commission.
These are the names that applied for Friedman's seat.
William Altfield
Victoria Brennan
Manuel Casabielle
Marie Davidson
Miguel de la O
Joel DeFabio
Dawn Denaro
Rachel Diaz
Rosa Figarola
Darrin Gayles
Alan Greenstein
Yolly Roberson
Alan Sackrin
Rodney Smith
Lisa Walsh
Deborah White-Labora
Finally, for those appellate attorneys out there, Governor Crist will choose between Kevin Emas, Ivan Fernandez, and Edwin Scales as the next Judge on the 3rd DCA. Expect that announcement on either side of Veteran's Day; (November 11 for those without a calendar).
Cap Out ......