DESANTIS APPOINTS FOUR NEW JUDGES .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

UPDATE:

Today, the Daily Business Review (Law.com) ran its story on the appointment of the four new judges. Contained within that DBR story, written by reporter Annie Mayne, she wrote as follows:

DeSantis Appoints 4 Judges to Miami-Dade Benches

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis named two judges to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court and two judges to the Miami-Dade County Court.

July 22, 2026 at 11:38 AM

By Annie Mayne

.... "Benedi and Losa will take seats emptied by former Judges Jason Reding Quiñones and Yara Klukas. Quiñones was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in August 2025 and Klukas took her oath as First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in September.

The governor’s office has declined to comment on the months-long gap between the time Quiñones and Klukas resigned and when DeSantis convened the 11th Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission to interview applicants to replace them. That more-than-seven-month-long delay was first reported by the Justice Building blog." (The story provided a hyperlink to the Captain Justice story posted on April 7th).

WE HAVE FOUR NEW JUDGES IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Today, on the final day of the 60-day constitutional deadline for filling judicial vacancies, Governor DeSantis finally complied with the Florida Constitution and appointed four new judges to the Miami-Dade bench.

CIRCUIT COURT

The Circuit Court welcomes two new judges, replacing retired Judges Jose Rodriguez and Marcia Caballero.

JUDGE ALICIA GARCIA PRIOVOLOS has served on the Miami-Dade County Court for the past three and a half years. She was elected to the bench in 2022, defeating incumbent Judge Scott Janowitz with nearly 60% of the vote. Before taking the bench, she spent sixteen years as an Assistant State Attorney.

JUDGE CHRISTOPHER GREEN was appointed to the County Court by Governor DeSantis in December 2022 and was elected without opposition in 2024. Judge Green began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, where he served for six years. He then spent twenty-three years as an attorney for the City of Miami before joining the judiciary.

COUNTY COURT

The County Court also gains two new judges, filling the vacancies created when Judges Jason Reding Quinones and Yara Klukas resigned in August and September 2025, respectively.

JUDGE GUSTAVO LOSA has been a member of The Florida Bar for twenty-one years. Prior to his appointment, he served as Associate General Counsel for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company.

JUDGE JOHANNA BENEDI has been a member of The Florida Bar for nineteen years. Before her appointment, she practiced with Farmers Insurance, defending Personal Injury Protection (PIP) cases. Captain Justice also believes she previously served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami.

Our loyal readers will recall that the appointment process for these two County Court vacancies sat dormant for approximately seven months after Judges Quinones and Klukas resigned. It took an email from Captain Justice to the Governor's General Counsel's Office to get things moving.

Remarkably, within an hour of receiving the Captain's email, the Governor's General Counsel contacted the Governor, and—faster than you can say "Get 'Er Done"—letters accepting the resignations of Judges Quinones and Klukas were issued, finally allowing the Judicial Nominating Commission to begin the constitutional appointment process.

Here are the links to our previous Blog posts on this saga: from April 7th, and from April 15th.

A PERSONAL NOTE...

Dear Judges Losa and Benedi:

You may send your thank-you notes to The Captain at Captain4Justice@gmail.com.

You're welcome.

And, in all seriousness, congratulations to all four of our newest judges. We wish each of you a long, successful, and distinguished judicial career.

CAPTAIN OUT …….
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

 

WE HAVE A NEW JUDGE ON THE 3RD DCA .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

"A MOOSE IS NOT A BEAVER"*

CONGRATULATIONS TO NEWLY APPOINTED THIRD DCA JUDGE THOMAS REBULL .....

Governor DeSantis has finally appointed Judge Thomas Rebull to replace retired Third District Court of Appeal Judge Kevin Emas.

Congratulations to Judge Rebull.

It only took 115 days, countless unanswered emails and telephone calls, and a Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed in the Florida Supreme Court by the ACLU of Florida before the Governor complied with the constitutional duty he swore to uphold.

Judge Kevin Emas retired on March 31, 2026. Earlier, on March 17, the Third DCA Judicial Nominating Commission had certified six nominees to Governor DeSantis.

Article V, Section 11(c) of the Florida Constitution could not be clearer:

"The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor."

Sixty days came and went.

No appointment.

Your humble CAPTAIN JUSTICE then began asking a very simple question:

Why?

Blog posts were written. (They can be read here and here.)

Emails were sent.

Telephone calls were made.

Voice messages were left.

General Counsel David Axelman and Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson—who oversees judicial appointments—never responded.

Not once.

With no explanation forthcoming, Captain Justice contacted the ACLU of Florida and asked that it consider filing a Petition for Writ of Mandamus to require compliance with the Florida Constitution.

The ACLU agreed.

Judge Kevin Emas agreed to serve as the petitioner.

The lawsuit was filed on June 30, 2026.

The Florida Supreme Court promptly ordered Governor DeSantis to respond within ten days, setting a deadline of Friday, July 10, at 5:00 p.m.

The handwriting was on the wall.

Earlier today, Governor DeSantis finally appointed Judge Thomas Rebull to the Third District Court of Appeal.

Then, at approximately 4:30 p.m.—just before the Supreme Court's deadline—General Counsel David Axelman and Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson filed the Governor's response.

Did they acknowledge that the constitutional deadline had been missed?

Did they apologize?

Did they explain why the Governor ignored the Constitution for nearly two months beyond the deadline?

No.

Instead, they asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Judge Emas' petition as moot because the Governor had "already" made the appointment.

Problem solved.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

What an extraordinary way to defend a missed constitutional deadline.

Congratulations again to Judge Thomas Rebull. By all accounts, he will make an outstanding appellate judge.

We also understand that Judge Rebull is presently drafting a letter to Captain Justice. We imagine it goes something like this:

Dear Captain Justice:

Thank you for your tireless service to Florida's legal community. Nobody keeps a closer eye on judicial appointments and judicial elections than Captain Justice. We especially appreciate your continuing coverage of "The Name Game."

Thank you for refusing to let this constitutional deadline disappear into the Tallahassee bureaucracy. Had you not continued asking uncomfortable questions, writing blog posts, sending emails, making telephone calls, and ultimately involving the ACLU, I might still be waiting.

As a newly appointed judge, I promise to do something my appointing authority failed to do for 115 days: faithfully follow the Constitution that I have sworn to uphold.

Sincerely,

Thomas Rebull

(Editor's Note: The preceding letter may contain slight embellishments.)

Now we turn our attention to the Governor's next four judicial appointments: two Circuit Court vacancies (Judges Marcia Caballero and Jose Rodriguez) and two County Court vacancies (Judges Yara Klukas and Jason Reding Quinones).

The constitutional deadline is July 19.

We'll see whether the Constitution matters this time.

*"A moose is not a beaver" may be the greatest opening line ever written in a Motion to Dismiss.

The quote comes from litigation filed by Buc-ee's against the owners of the Mickey Mart chain of convenience stores in Ohio. Buc-ee's claims trademark infringement because Mickey Mart's logo features... a moose. (Buc-ee is a Beaver).

Counsel for Mickey Mart responded with the immortal observation:

"A moose is not a beaver."

Sometimes, lawyers really do write the best comedy.

CAPTAIN OUT ......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

BREAKING NEWS ... JUDGE EMAS (via the ACLU of Florida) sues Governor DeSantis .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

"Apparently, in Tallahassee, constitutional deadlines are treated more like New Year's resolutions than legal obligations."

JUDGE KEVIN EMAS (by the ACLU of Florida) SUES GOVERNOR DESANTIS .....

On March 31, 2026, Judge Kevin Emas retired from the Third District Court of Appeal.

Following the announcement of his retirement back in December, Governor DeSantis requested that the Third DCA Judicial Nominating Commission begin the process of identifying his replacement.

The JNC did exactly what the Florida Constitution required it to do. It accepted applications, conducted interviews, deliberated, and on March 17, 2026, Chairman Paul Huck, Jr. transmitted the certified list of nominees to the Governor.

And with that transmission, the constitutional clock began to run.

Article V, Section 11(c) of the Florida Constitution is not complicated. It is not ambiguous. It does not contain exceptions, loopholes, or escape hatches.

It provides:

"The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor."

"Shall" is not advisory language.

"Within sixty days" is not a suggestion.

Day 60 came and went on May 16, 2026.

The Governor did not make an appointment.

On May 20, 2026, your own CAPTAIN JUSTICE sent an email to Governor DeSantis' General Counsel, David Axelman, whose office oversees the judicial appointment process. Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson, the Director of Judicial Appointments, was copied on the correspondence.

There was no response.

On May 26, 2026, Captain Justice followed up.

Still no response.

Telephone calls were placed.

Voice messages were left.

Still no response.

Throughout the month of June, additional emails and messages were sent to Mr. Axelman and Ms. Gustafson asking two simple questions:

Why has the Governor failed to appoint a replacement for Judge Emas?

And when can the citizens of Florida expect the appointment to be made?

The answer to both questions, apparently, was silence.

On May 29, 2026, Captain Justice contacted the ACLU of Florida. In prior instances involving missed constitutional deadlines for judicial appointments, the ACLU has sought relief from the Florida Supreme Court to compel compliance with the Constitution.

Nicholas Warren, an attorney with the ACLU of Florida, advised that the organization would consider pursuing such relief in this matter.

Today, June 30, 2026, the ACLU of Florida did exactly that.

The following Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed in the Supreme Court of Florida:

KEVIN EMAS, Petitioner,

v.

RON DESANTIS, as Governor of Florida, Respondent.

The petition was filed by Nicholas Warren on behalf of Judge Emas.

A copy of the petition can be found here.

The ACLU of Florida issued a Press Release accompanying the Petition. From their Press Release:

“A deadline is a deadline,” said Nicholas Warren, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida. “Governor DeSantis doesn’t just get to ignore our Constitution if he feels like it. His repeated refusal to follow such a simple law is both troubling and illegal.”

A copy of the Press Release issued by the ACLU of Florida can be found here.

Meanwhile, six highly qualified nominees continue waiting for action from the Governor's Office:

Jeffrey DeSousa
Judge Javier Enriquez
Judge Spencer Multack
Judge Joseph Perkins
Judge Thomas Rebull
Judge Robert Watson

One of these six individuals will almost certainly be named to the Third DCA in the near future.

The question is why Florida had to get here first.

It should not require intervention by CAPTAIN JUSTICE, the ACLU, and litigation in the Supreme Court of Florida to compel compliance with one of the clearest provisions in the Florida Constitution.

Governor DeSantis, General Counsel David Axelman, and Director of Judicial Appointments Taylor Gustafson have each taken an oath to support, protect, and defend that Constitution.

Citizens are expected to follow the law.

Lawyers are expected to follow the law.

Judges are expected to follow the law.

Surely the same standard applies to those charged with enforcing it.

CAPTAIN OUT ......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

FOUR NEW JUDGES IN MIAMI-DADE ... & FIVE MORE STILL TO BE NAMED

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR FOUR NEWEST MIAMI-DADE COURT JUDGES ARE:

CIRCUIT COURT

Judge Elizabeth Espinosa. A former ASA, she was appointed by DeSantis to the County Court in December 2019. She won election in 2022.

Judge Jorge Perez Santiago. He was appointed by DeSantis to the County Court in May 2023. He won election in 2024.

COUNTY COURT

Michelle Roth. A former ASA, she was in private practice. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1995.

Andrew McGinley. A former AAG, he was serving as the General Counsel for the Department of Children & Families. He has been a member of The Florida Bar since December 2018.

All four were appointed to newly created judicial seats under SB 2508.

SO, YOU STILL WANT TO BE A JUDGE .....

There are four more open seats, including two on the Circuit Court by virtue of the retirements of Judge Jose Rodriguez and Judge Marcia Caballero, and two more open seats on the County Court. 

And yes—those County Court openings come with a backstory.

As previously reported, Judges Jason Reding Quinones and Yara Klukas resigned last summer to assume leadership roles with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. Under the Florida Constitution, that should have triggered the appointment process within 30 days.

It didn’t.

Eight months later—after a few well-placed nudges from Captain Justice to General Counsel David Axelman—the Governor’s Office finally accepted the resignations and directed the JNC to begin the process.

Better late than never… but eight months late is still eight months late.

To read our two previous posts about the fiasco, go here and here.

THE APPLICANT POOL:

CIRCUIT (10)

Judge Miesha Darraugh
Judge Eleana Sosa-Bruzon
Judge Rita Cuervo
Judge Chiaka Ihekwaba
Judge Alicia Garcia Priovolos
Judge Stephanie Silver
Judge Michelle Urbistondo
Judge Christopher Green
Judge Jennifer Trautman Levin
Judge Natalie Moore

CIRCUIT & COUNTY (7)

Annette Strauch
Natalia Costea
Christian Dunham
Alexander Shear
Aaron Feuer
Scott Janowitz
Jose Martinez

COUNTY (9)

Patricia Salman
Kimberly Hillery
Gustavo Losa
Johanna Benedi
Ivette Lavelle
Madeline D’Arce
Jeffrey Pierce
Shawn Abuhoff
Lillian Gonzalez

HAVE A VIEW? SAY IT.

If you have thoughts about any of the applicants, direct them to JNC Chair Eliot Pedrosa at epedrosa@jonesday.com.

Interviews are scheduled for May 19, 2026, after which the JNC will submit three to six nominees per vacancy to the Governor.

THIRD DCA 

Governor DeSantis is expected to name Judge Kevin Emas' replacement sometime in the next week.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

EIGHT MONTHS OF SILENCE — UNTIL WE ASKED QUESTIONS .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

EIGHT MONTHS OF SILENCE — UNTIL WE ASKED QUESTIONS 

Funny how that works ...

On April 7th, we told you that “SOMETHING VERY FISHY IS GOING ON HERE” regarding two vacant County Court seats in Miami-Dade.

We went digging. Public Records Requests (PRRs) went out. And now, the timeline tells the story.

On August 13, 2025, County Court Judge Jason Reding Quinones submitted his resignation to Governor DeSantis, advising that he had been nominated by President Trump to serve as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

On September 25, 2025, County Court Judge Yara Klukas followed suit, submitting her resignation to accept a position as First Assistant U.S. Attorney—under Quinones.

Two resignations. Two vacancies. Clock starts ticking.

Under the Florida Constitution, the process to fill a judicial vacancy must begin within 30 days.

Instead?

Nothing.

Not 30 days. Not 60. Not 90.

Nearly eight months of radio silence.

No publication of the resignation letters (as is customary).

No request to the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC).

No applications. No interviews. No nominees.

No replacements.

Just… nothing.

So, on March 25, at precisely 1:38 PM, your Captain Justice sent an email to the Governor’s General Counsel, Ryan Newman, asking a simple question:

Why had the constitutional process never even begun?

Newman has yet to respond.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

Within the hour of that email, Governor DeSantis suddenly sprang into action.

He drafted and signed two letters, (without ever even thanking the Captain).

The first, addressed to “The Honorable Jason Quinones, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida,” stated: “I accept your resignation as Judge of the Miami-Dade County Court.”

Date of the letter?

March 25, 2026.

A small problem: by that date, Quinones had already been serving as the United States Attorney for roughly eight months.

Even better—the letter was sent to a courthouse address… for a judge who hadn’t been a judge in eight months.

DeSantis sent an identical letter to former Judge Klukas—same date, same format, same courthouse address.

At that point, Klukas had already been serving as First Assistant U.S. Attorney for seven months.

Then—still on March 25, shortly after those letters were signed—Deputy General Counsel David Axelman emailed JNC Chair Eliot Pedrosa, directing him to finally convene the Commission to begin the process of filling the two long-vacant seats.

Amazing how that works.

Eight months of inaction… followed by a flurry of activity within hours of one email from Captain Justice asking questions.

Coincidence?

You decide.

As for answers—don’t hold your breath.

I called Axelman. Multiple times. Left messages.

I emailed him. Asked for an explanation.

Nothing. No response. No return calls.

And that, folks, is where we stand.

Two judicial seats sat vacant for the better part of a year.

A constitutional mandate ignored.

And only when someone started asking questions did the machinery of government suddenly come to life.

Draw your own conclusions.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS – UPDATE …

Two new filings since our posts last week.

Circuit Court – Group 5

Attorney Monica Segura has entered the race, joining Alex Annunziato and Arthur McNeil. Segura is the Senior Managing Associate General Counsel for Universal Property & Casualty and has been a member of The Florida Bar for 20 years.

Interesting note: Segura applied to the JNC in its most recent round, when two Circuit and two County Court seats were open. Out of 32 applicants, she interviewed for both Circuit and County. The JNC ultimately forwarded 24 names to the Governor—Segura’s was not among them. Now she’s taking her case directly to the voters.

County Court – Group 25

Attorney Maribel Diaz has filed against incumbent Judge Luis Perez-Medina. Diaz has been a member of The Florida Bar for 17 years and currently works in the Miami-Dade Tax Collector’s Office.

Keen readers of the Captain will recall last week’s Incumbent Vulnerability Quotient (IVQ), © 2026 rankings. Judge Perez-Medina came in at number three. It appears Ms. Diaz may have been paying attention.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

GOVERNOR DESANTIS: REMOVE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL UTHMEIER .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis stated:

“If a prosecutor wants to ‘reform’ the criminal justice system, then the appropriate thing to do is resign from office and run for the Legislature on such a platform.’’ 

Today, those words demand consistency.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE CALLS ON GOVERNOR DESANTIS TO REMOVE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMES UTHMEIER .....

On May 23, 2024, Jaylen Eubanks was arrested in Broward County and charged with Carrying a Concealed Firearm and Improper Exhibition of a Dangerous Weapon (Case No. 24-5748-CF-10-A). At the time of his arrest, Eubanks was 18 years old.

His counsel, Assistant Public Defender Thomas Cottone, filed a Motion to Dismiss the concealed firearm charge, arguing that Florida Statute 790.01(3) is unconstitutional. While Florida law permits concealed carry without a permit for individuals 21 and older as of July 1, 2023, it continues to prohibit concealed carry by those under 21.

Broward Circuit Court Judge Lorena Mastrarrigo denied the motion. Eubanks subsequently entered a no-contest plea, expressly reserving his right to appeal.

The case is now pending before the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Case No. 4D2025-1698). The Public Defender’s Office filed its Initial Brief. On February 6, 2026, under the direction of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey DeSousa filed the State’s Answer Brief.

In that filing, the State concedes that the conviction for carrying a concealed firearm should be reversed.

Attorney General Uthmeier has maintained that the State should not prosecute firearm cases involving 18-to-20-year-olds because, in his view, the statute is unconstitutional. In effect, the chief legal officer of Florida has chosen not to defend a duly enacted law of this State.

HAROLD PRYOR V. JAMES UTHMEIER: STEEL CAGE MATCH .....

In a highly unusual move, just three days later, the Broward State Attorney’s Office—led by Harold F. Pryor—filed a Motion for Leave to File an Amicus Brief.

State Attorney Pryor argues that prosecutors are constitutionally obligated to enforce the laws as written unless and until those laws are declared unconstitutional by the courts. To selectively decline enforcement based on personal constitutional interpretation, he contends, places an official above the law and neglects the duty of office.

In his Motion, Pryor emphasized:

     “Statutes are presumed to be constitutional and must be construed whenever possible to effect a constitutional outcome." 

The Motion went on to state that “the concession by the Solicitor General on this point deprives this Court from conducting the review  of the finding of the trial court, contrary to the wishes of the people of the State of Florida."

On February 17, the 4th DCA GRANTED Pryor’s Motion to file an Amicus Brief.

DESANTIS’ HISTORY OF REMOVING ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR NEGLECT OF DUTY.....

The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to suspend local government officials for:

   “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform the member’s official duties, or commission of a felony."

In 2022, DeSantis removed Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for "Neglect of Duty", after Warren pledged not to prosecute abortion-related cases. When the governor removed Warren from office, he accused Warren of "putting himself publicly above the law" by pledging not to enforce laws that criminalize abortion and prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.”

At the time, DeSantis stated: “If a prosecutor wants to ‘reform’ the criminal justice system, then the appropriate thing to do is resign from office and run for the Legislature on such a platform.’’

In 2023, DeSantis removed Ninth Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell for Neglect of Duty, citing a pattern of policies that allegedly failed to hold criminals accountable. At the time of her removal, DeSantis stated: "Worrell’s practices and policies have too often allowed violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct."

A QUESTION OF CONSISTENCY

The issue now is straightforward:

If a state attorney’s refusal to enforce a law constitutes “neglect of duty,” what is the standard for the Attorney General of Florida?

If the Attorney General believes a statute is unconstitutional, the appropriate course is to seek legislative reform or await judicial invalidation — not to decline defense of the law based on personal constitutional interpretation.

Governor DeSantis has set the standard.

The question is whether he will apply it uniformly.

What was “putting oneself above the law” in 2022 cannot become “principled discretion” in 2026.

If the Governor intends to remain consistent with his stated principles, then the same measure he applied to others must now be considered here.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

CAPTAIN OUT .....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

DESANTIS STRIKES AGAIN - SUSPENDS ELECTED STATE ATTORNEY MONIQUE WORRELL .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

DESANTIS STRIKES AGAIN .......

Governor Ron “Sanctimonious” DeSantis suspended today elected State Attorney Monique Worrell, of the 9th Circuit (Orlando & Osceola Counties), for Neglect of Duty and Incompetence.

Worrell was elected in 2020 with 67% of the vote and would be facing a reelection campaign next year. She is a Democrat.

Aramis Ayala, also a Democrat, was elected State Attorney in the 9th Circuit in 2016. In March 2017, former Gov. Rick Scott removed her from handling capital cases, which were reassigned to Ocala based State Attorney Brad King. Ayala challenged the decision, but the Florida Supreme Court backed Scott.

In January of 2020, Governor DeSantis pulled Ayala from a high-profile murder case, issuing an executive order that cited her objections to the death penalty. Ayala has been caught up in a dispute with Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson over her decision to not file criminal charges against two suspects in the murder of Nicole Montalvo. Montalvo, a 33-year-old mother, was dismembered and her remains were found on two properties in Osceola County. Alaya did not run for re-election in 2020 and instead ran for Florida Attorney General against AG Ashley Moody, in 2022, losing to Moody.

In August of 2022, DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren (a Democrat), of the 13th Judicial Circuit (Tampa), after Warren signed two joint statements, saying he would refuse to prosecute crimes related to abortion and gender transition treatments for children.

Now it’s Worrell's turn to be in the firing line.  DeSantis’ Order cited to Worrell’s office policies on failing to enforce the law related to many violent felony cases. DeSantis detailed a series of cases over the past two years where those accused of gun crimes, drug-trafficking and other offenses received reduced sentences or had charges lessened or dismissed in Worrell's circuit. According to DeSantis’ Order:

MINIMUM MANDATORY GUN CASES:

1. the Osceola County Sheriffs Office reports that it referred 58 non-homicide Robbery with a Firearm cases to the Ninth Circuit in 2021 and 2022. As of May 2023, only one of those cases had resulted in the minimum mandatory sentence of ten years. Similarly, during that same two-year period, the Osceola County Sheriffs Office referred 11 non-homicide Carjacking with a Firearm cases to the Ninth Circuit, but only one had resulted in the minimum mandatory sentence of ten years. The Ninth Circuit also received 14 non-homicide cases involving Home Invasion Robbery with a Firearm from the Osceola County Sheriffs Office, yet not one of those arrests resulted in the minimum mandatory sentence. Finally, of the 130 cases involving Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon referred to the Ninth Circuit in 2021 and 2022 by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office, only five had resulted in a minimum mandatory sentence. 

DRUG TRAFFICKING MIN MANS:

2. the Osceola County Sheriffs Office reports that it referred 32 drug trafficking cases to Worrell's office in 2021, but as of March 2023, only three have resulted in a minimum mandatory sentence. Of the 64 drug trafficking cases referred in 2022, none have resulted in a minimum mandatory sentence.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS

3. the Ninth Circuit has used a variety of techniques to allow serious juvenile offenders to evade incarceration where it would otherwise be appropriate. Assistant state attorneys are generally prevented or discouraged from "direct filing" cases (whereby juveniles are charged as adults) and are encouraged to effectively drop charges against juvenile defendants, either by not filing the charges in the first place ("non-files") or by voluntarily abandoning the charges after they have been filed ("nolle prosequis");

4. data establishes that during Worrell's tenure as the State Attorney, the Ninth Circuit is last of all 20 circuits in Florida in the percentage of juvenile felony cases, including firearm-related felonies and violent felonies, that are direct filed based on the most serious offense disposed. In addition, the Ninth Circuit has consistently been first among all circuits in the percentage of juvenile felony cases, including firearm-related felonies and violent felonies, dropped as a result of a non-file or a nolle prosequi. 

You can read DeSantis' 40 page ORDER here:

Worrell held a press conference today blasting DeSantis. She called DeSantis a “dictator” and said his actions were designed to draw attention away from his struggling presidential campaign. 

“This is simply a smokescreen for Ron DeSantis’ failing and disastrous presidential campaign,” Worrell said. “He needed to get back in the media in some positive way that would be red meat for his base.”

She said that recent statistics showed that crime had dropped in Orange County and the city of Orlando under her time in office and that she intends to run for reelection in 2024. She has already filed her campaign papers and she has so far drawn one opponent.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

TYLMAN CONTINUES DIGGING HER OWN GRAVE; DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA JUMPING INTO THE SAME HOLE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

UPDATED:

We do our best to keep it light on this Blog, while regularly discussing important issues that affect our criminal justice family.

But, today, a family, and a police department mourn the loss of a brave young police detective, Cesar "Echy" Echaverry. Detective Echaverry was 29 years old when he was shot while on duty Monday night working his job as a Robbery Intervention Detail (RID) Detective. While he bravely fought for his life, his body surrendered and he passed away tonight.

All of the police officers of our community go out to work each day, kiss their loved ones, spouses, children, and then are prepared to take a bullet for us. To make our community safer. Let us never forget the sacrifices they make for us to protect our safety and security.

May God bless Detective Echaverry and may his family gather strength from the prayers of the citizens of our community.

CAP .......

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES ... 

... AND SO DOES TESS TYLMAN DIGGING HER FLORIDA BAR & JQC HOLES EVEN DEEPER .....

In her latest desperate move, Tess Tylman is sending text messages to voters phones that include a photo of Governor DeSantis. Next to the Governor's photo are the words stamped in bright red VOIE #90 (a reference to Tylman's location on the ballot).  This text violates several Judicial Canons including using Desantis' image as if he is endorsing the candidate and using the Governor's image when DeSantis is also running in the same election and on the same ballot.  If by chance Tylman somehow gets more votes than her opponent, Judge Lody Jean, The Captain predicts that it will be a short rein on the bench for Ms. Tylman when the Florida Supreme Court removes her from office.

In other news, we can't help but "like" several of the Comments that have appeared over the past few days in the Justice Building Blog (JBB).  Thanks mom and dad for the following:

Captain killing it this election year with his multiple stories on the candidates. Rumpole and Captain thank you for the public service you are providing. Thursday, August 11, 2022 10:51:00 PM

It is true. This coverage blows away the herald. They should just link to this site and call it a day.  Friday, August 12, 2022 7:09:00 AM

Cap, I'm loving all this campaign info! Great job.  Saturday, August 13, 2022 11:32:00 AM

That’s a pretty nice investigation! Sunday, August 14, 2022 8:29:00 AM

In case you have missed the coverage, we have been quoted and been provided attribution several times over the past month in the Daily Business Review, the Miami Herald, the Florida Bulldog, among other threads.  Yesterday, THE DBR did a follow up to our story called: GET OUT THE HANDCUFFS ??? HAVE THE DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA BROTHERS BROKEN THE LAW ??? that can be found here.

In the DBR story, reporter Michael Adam Mora (who contacted me directly) wrote a story called: 'This Is Gutter Politics': Ethics Question Raised in Miami-Dade Race Between Judge Fred Seraphin and Renier Diaz de la Portilla. Mora writes: 

"Ethics experts say it could become problematic if someone could prove to the Florida Supreme Court or the Judicial Qualifications Commission that Renier Diaz de la Portilla, a partner at Diaz de la Portilla Lawyers in Miami, was aware of the distribution of certain campaign materials in the judicial race from the PAC that supports his brother, Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla."

Mora went on to say:

"But when the Justice Building Blog published the news Saturday of the alleged criminal implications, Renier Diaz de la Portilla claimed in an email that the blog is “conducting a nasty third-party campaign against me with what I am told is my opponent’s full knowledge and consent.”***

Our colleague Brian Tannebaum was quoted in the story saying: “This is gutter politics,” said Tannebaum, who is not involved in the Group 5 race. “This is exactly the type of conduct that causes the Florida Supreme Court to remove a judge, and in the Santino case they made that clear.” (Tannebaum was referring to one of the two Florida Supreme Court cases we cited in our story). 

Mora went on to say: "Tannebaum said that whether the release of the phone number could lead to Renier Diaz de la Portilla or his brother facing a first-degree misdemeanor, as the anonymous blogger claimed (in the Justice Building Blog), is an academic argument, since one could argue the PAC—a non-governmental entity—disclosed the number in the mailer. Regardless, “If you go down the list,” there are allegedly multiple violations of bar rules and judicial canons."

***In response to Diaz de la Portilla's allegations that his opponent (Judge Seraphin) has full knowledge and provided consent for our posts, we just had to laugh out loud (LOL). Judge Seraphin may read the Blog and would therefore have knowledge as to what we have written. We can assure you that we have not contacted Judge Seraphin and asked for his permission or blessing to post what we have written.

ELECTION OR APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES, THAT IS THE QUESTION .....

A debate broke out in the Comments section of the Blog last week about whether we should continue with the election of judges, or turn to the appointment system (the one used for open seats, and appointments to the appellate courts and Florida Supreme Court).

One Commenter stated:

"651 what bad or extreme appointments has Desantis made in our trial courts? None."  Thursday, August 11, 2022 8:39:00 AM

Let me respond to 8:39 AM by answering his question with a question. Governor DeSantis claims that diversity is of his highest priority when it comes to the appointment of judges. My question is - is he being honest with the citizens of the State of Florida when he makes that statement; is he being honest with himself?

Between January of 2019 when DeSantis was sworn into office and August of 2022, DeSantis has made a total of 191 judicial appointments. Of those 191 appointments, here are the "diverse" numbers he speaks of:

A total of 123 of those judicial appointments were from a group whose resumes included the previous jobs of ASA’s, AUSA’s, and/or AAG’s. Of the 123, a total of 72 of those appointments were pulled directly from one of those three offices. Can you guess how many APDs/FAPDs were appointed directly out of their offices - TWO, THAT’S RIGHT TWO, VERSUS 72. Federal Assistant PD Ayana Harris was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Court in December of 2019. Assistant PD Barry Dickson was appointed to the Escambia County Court in September of 2020.

The answer to my question, if you are being honest with yourself, is NO. DeSantis’ appointments have been anything but diverse.  

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

GOV. DESANTIS' JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS & A "FEW" NEW ATTORNEYS SET TO JOIN THE BAR .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

GOVERNOR DESANTIS & HIS RECORD ON JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS .... AND NEW LAWYERS JOIN THE RANKS OF THE FLORIDA BAR .......

Last week I reported to my loyal readers that three new judges* were appointed in Miami-Dade County among a grand total of 20 new judges appointed throughout the State by Gov. DeSantis on September 16th.  Following my post, there was a decent amount of chitter chatter on the local list serv which we will not quote from directly. But the gist of the chatter was that, in the patch of 20 new judges, Gov DeSantis included two, yes two criminal defense practitioners, and that we should somehow be excited because our fine Governor has finally seen the light after being in office for 32 months and finally recognized the fact that a criminal defense lawyer can actually make for a fine trial court judge.

Let’s be clear and set the record straight.  DeSantis’ record of judicial appointments has been abysmal.  There is a reason why DeSantis does not fear losing at the appellate court level when a trial court judge in Tallahassee rules the Governor’s mask Order to be unconstitutional. He knows that every single judge sitting on the 1st DCA is a Republican appointee and, as DeSantis predicted, they reversed the trial court judge’s ruling faster than you can say the word “ivermectin”.  The trial court appointments made by DeSantis also reflect only one kind of judge - one that has somewhere on their resume the initials  “ASA”, “AUSA”, or “AAG”.

The current numbers are staggering when you consider them from the lens of a criminal defense practitioner, or, better yet, from the eyes of the citizens of our great state - many of whom may someday appear before one of those trial court judges.

Governor DeSantis loves to cite his record of diversity in his judicial appointments. His appointments to the bench have been anything but diverse. (Contrast that with President Biden's first eight months in office. On Monday, the Senate confirmed another Biden appointee as an U.S. appeals court judge - Veronica Rossman; Judge Rossman becomes one of only eight appeals court judges in the country who have experience as a public defender. Biden is responsible for naming four of those appointees. Read the full story here.).

Between January of 2019 and September of 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed at least 148 judges to the Florida Supreme Court, Appellate Court, Circuit Court, and/or County Court bench. Of those 148 judges, at least 93 of them (63%) have the “ASA”, “AUSA”, and/or “AAG” on their resume. Contrast that with the fact that only 9 of his 148 appointees (6%) had the letters “APD” and/or AFPD” on their resumes.  Of the 93 appointees, 57 of them were actually employed as an ASA, AUSA, or AAG at the time of their appointment, while only TWO (2) of the nine defense appointees were working as an APD or AFPD at the time of their appointment.

NEW ATTORNEYS JOIN YOUR FLORIDA BAR

The test scores are in and please welcome another 1,483 attorneys to The Florida Bar.  The actual numbers may end up being even higher.  The July results include: (UPDATED/CORRECTED)

FIRST TIME TEST-TAKERS STATS ONLY

2,285 applicants sat for the Bar exam for the first time; (3,343 applicants overall took the Bar exam; 1,058 of them had taken the test one or more times before. It is not clear how many of those 1,058 passed the exam).

1,637 of those applicants passed the Bar exam

1,483 have been approved for admission by the Florida Supreme Court while the other 154 have hired Brian Tannebaum to find out why they were not yet approved.** 

The top law school pass rates for FIRST TIME test takers:

FIU (again) at 88.8%

UM  - 82.5%

UF   - 81.3%

The bottom three:

St. Thomas - 50.8%

Florida Coastal - 53.3%***

Florida A&M - 56.8%

*The Eleventh Judicial Circuit currently has a total of 121 judges including 48 that are male and 73 that are female. The breakdown includes: in Circuit Court 34 male and 43 female; in County Court 14 male and 30 female.

**Just Kidding about Mr. Tannebaum, although we all know how fine an attorney Brian is in that field of practice. No cash nor a bottle of Opus One was provided to the Captain by said Tannebaum in exchange for this message.

***Florida Coastal lost their ABA accreditation and will cease to exist as a law school after 2023.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

DESANTIS IS RIGHT

 Governor DeSantis is right on covid. And that is not very hard for us to admit. 

A few facts from the NY Times: 

Florida is averaging 21,673 new cases.  DeSantis has been proven right. 

Florida is averaging 51,561 tests a day; down 51% . DeSantis is right.

Florida has 17, 183 people hospitalized, up17% and is averaging 228 people dying every day (over 1500 souls a week), up 87%. DeSantis has been proven right again and again. 

The Times summarizes the data as Florida has more people getting sick, more people hospitalized, and more people dying than at any time during the pandemic. DeSantis has been proven right, right, and right. 

There are two schools of thought aligned along the left-right political spectrum. The "left" believes in science, that masks stop the spread, and that vaccines save lives. The "right" believes in anything that is opposite of the left.  Masks do not work, the government (which requires polio and a myriad of other vaccines) has NO RIGHT to require people to wear masks, and vaccines have been rushed, could sterilize a whole generation of young women, enrich Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci, and do not work. 

DeSantis is the right. So he is, as we say above - "right". And thousands of Floridians are sick, dead and dying because he is right. 

So there. 

WE'RE BACK

 Florida is back baby! Yup, once again numero uno in the nation in new covid cases.  So let's go over the numbers as per the CDC: 

21,683 new cases Friday. WE"RE #1! (previous high was 19,334 on January 7). 

Average of 15,818 new cases a day last week. WE'RE #1!

409 covid deaths last week. WE'RE #1!

70,000 new cases a day in the US last week, and Florida, one state out of fifty is responsible for more than 20% or those. 

COME TO FLORIDA =SEE IT AS A NATIVE!

When the CDC recently recommended that all children returning to the school in the fall wear masks, Governor De No Science Santis IMMEDIATELY signed an executive order preventing school districts requiring school children to wear masks. Because if Covid is killing (which it is again) and the pandemic is raging (ditto) then science sucks in Florida! 

"No scientist is going to tell me what to put in mah arm and that makh kid should wear no damn mask to school" is what Mr. and Mrs. Yahoo in Two Egg Florida say to each other as they pull into the Piggly Wiggly to buy chips and beer for breakfast. "What do they all knows anyhow?"

Well, true, the immunological experts  did not stop at a HS equivalency degree. And true, they don't work three gig jobs and load boxes for Amazon. Just ten years of schooling and ten years of post grad work in virology, but why should anyone listen to someone who has spent a life time studying a subject?

We first identified this phenomenon when POTUS 45 was President-elect. He was at a rally somewhere in the middle of the country and he had just decided to nominate James Mattis as his secretary of defense, mostly because he liked the nickname "Mad-Dog." Now, outside of Rumpole and the military establishment, no one really knew that James Mattis was an aesthetic monk-warrior, who spent his life time committed to the military and lived a simple lifestyle surrounded by books. 

Yet when POTUS 45 announced to the crowd he was picking "Mad-Dog Mattis" as the new secretary of defense, they paused for a moment, because not one damn one of them knew who he was, but then someone started yelling and clapping and then more and more and soon the crowd was screaming  in ecstasy over someone they had never heard of, but because the President Elect thought he would shake things up, they were going to scream in joy.  Because people are reveling in their ignorance and they want to be led. Angry at only being smart enough to obtain a minimum wage job, they are some how forming a belief that intellectuals caused their problems. So, when an ignorant anti-intellectual becomes their leader, they buy into the anti-expert tirades. 

There is a certain unexplainable joy dumb people have in being told to disbelieve their eyes and that the experts do not know anything. 

Covid spreads almost entirely through respiration. SO DO NOT WEAR MASKS!

A covid vaccine is 95% effective in stopping infections, and almost 100% effective in stopping serious side-effects from infections. SO DO NOT GET THE VACCINE (cue the unwashed masses in Florida cheering for their governor.)

Now here is the thing about No Science De Santis and we told you first- he is 100% running for president regardless of what POTUS 45 does. And he has POTUS 45's playbook. If an expert says to do this, he says do not do it! If common sense tells you to wear a mask, do not do it. You are an American. You have a god-given right to not listen to experts. 

When your appendix bursts- go to the gas station not the ER. Who says a surgeon is best qualified to remove a burst appendix? Only experts and we know not to believe them.

When you get in an airplane, ask a passenger to fly it NOT the pilot.  Who says a pilot can fly a plane better than anyone. They crash all the time, right? 

Why should teachers teach from history books? The South did NOT lose the civil war. Fake news. 

And on and on and on, with appeals to conspiracy theories like 5G causes cancer and covid, and that the people who attacked the capitol on January 6 "were regular tourists" (this was actually said by a Republican Congressman in Congress last week). 

So. Do Not Wear a Mask. DO NOT get vaccinated. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars, but come to Florida, the land of ignorance. Get Covid (just a small cold) and go to a freaking 7-11 when you get sick and ask the counter person to treat you. 

Then drop dead.  Good riddance. 

THE REVENGE OF TEXTUALISM

UPDATE: Judge Francis has withdrawn her name from consideration to become the next Justice on the Florida Supreme Court 

We like nothing better than when a conservative court issues a conservative order that bites a conservative in their maskless butt. 

The Florida Supreme Court did that Friday when, invoking the ghost of Scalia past, it ordered our mask shaming governor to appointment a new Justice to the Court by Monday High Noon. A showdown at the OK Coral this is not. But still, it has the makings of some fun. Suppose for a second the Governor nominates a Judge who can serve for two months before mandatory retirement? Just a thought as to all the shenanigans that we may be in for.  Nothing better than a Constitutional Crisis Weekend. 

Here are some highlights from the order: 

"The constitution’s ten-year Bar membership requirement and sixty-day appointment deadline are bright-line textual mandates that impose rules rather than standards and prioritize certainty over discretion. To some, enforcing rules like these might seem needlessly formalistic when the result is to preclude the appointment of an otherwise qualified candidate. But “formalism,” as Justice Scalia observed, “is what makes a government a government of laws and not of men.”

In other words, "here is your Scalia textualism, now choke on it."

The Governor thought he was being sneaky when his counsel, in their latest argument wrote that DeSantis didn't Appoint Judge Francis to the Court...he just announced his Intention to appoint her when she was eligible. 

The Court didn't buy what the Governor was peddling, dismissing the linguistic slight of hand in a snickering footnote:  

"We note the inconsistency with the Governor’s assertion, in response to the initial petition in this case, that “Governor DeSantis completed his legal duty by appointing Judge Francis … to the Florida Supreme Court on May 26, 2020."

All over the State robed readers who want to live in Tallahassee are making their plans, and checking their phones twice, waiting for DeSantis to be naughty or nice. Someone is going to get the call "Hey, how do you feel about being my second choice?"

Meanwhile Judge Francis needs to call the realtor and see if she can get her deposit back on that apartment in Tallahassee. 

2020-985_disposition_150566_d04 by HR on Scribd

JUDGE/JUSTICE RENATHA FRANCIS, IN OR OUT .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT HAS SPOKEN .......

The Florida Supreme Court responded this morning to the Governor's 11:57 PM filing by smacking him down "writ of mandamus" style.

Here is the link to the Order.:
 
Bottom line, every time the Governor and his legal counsel open their mouths, unconstitutional words come out. First, the Governor violated the constitution by not appointing Justice Luck's replacement within the constitutionally required 60 days. Second, he chose Judge Francis, who was constitutionally unqualified to serve (blame the JNC for nominating her in the first place).


The Florida Supreme Court ordered the Governor to pick one of the other seven "qualified" candidates by no later than Monday, September 14, 2020.

Judge Jonathan Gerber (Fourth District Court of Appeal)

Judge Jamie Grosshans (Fifth District Court of Appeal)

Judge Norma Lindsey (Third District Court of Appeal)

Judge Timothy Osterhaus (First District Court of Appeal)

Eliot Pedrosa (executive director, InterAmerican Development Bank)

Judge Lori Rowe (First District Court of Appeal)

Judge Meredith Sasso (Fifth District Court of Appeal)

PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE .......

On a somber note, today is the 19^TH anniversary of 9/11.

I just got off the phone negotiating with opposing counsel over the resolution of a case. Opposing counsel has been practicing for all of four years. She was 10 years old when our country was attacked on 9/11.

Have a safe weekend my friends.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

 
 

GOVERNOR DESANTIS APPOINTS SECOND SUPREME COURT JUSTICE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .......
(More Breaking News on the 3rd DCA below).

JUDGE ROBERT LUCK APPOINTED TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT:

A few minutes ago, before a large crowd of friends and family gathered at the Scheck Hillel Community School in Aventura, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the second of three Supreme Court appointments. Last week he stood at The Freedom Tower and appointed 3^rd DCA Judge Barabar Lagoa to the court to replace Justice Fred Lewis. That seat was reserved for someone who was a resident of the state’s Third Appellate District. Today, Gov. DeSantis’ selection is for one of the two remaining "at large" seats.

Judge Robert Luck graduated from North Miami Beach High School and he still lives in the area with his wife and two children. He graduated from UF undergrad (BA, 2000) and UF Law in 2004; (Editor in Chief of the Law Review). He then clerked for Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Greenberg Traurig where he worked in their appellate section. In 2008 he became an AUSA, and he was assigned to the Appeals, Major Crimes, and Economic Crimes Sections, spending five years there. In 2013, Gov. Scott appointed him to the Circuit Court. He won a full six year term in 2016 when he defeated Yolly Roberson (54% - 46%). He spent a total of four years on the Circuit Court bench presiding in the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. In March of 2017, Scott elevated him to the 3^rd DCA. Justice Luck completes his meteoric rise in the Florida state court system with his appointment to the state’s highest court.

For anyone that has ever applied to the judiciary in the State of Florida, you know that the application asks you to describe "significant cases" you have handled in your career (as a lawyer or on the bench). In Luck's application,  he described what happened to him during a 2015 hearing concerning the prosecution of a defendant charged with Battery of a person over the age of 65:

" ... the defendant rushed up from his seat and jumped at me. He and I tumbled down the steps of the bench, and as I was laying on the floor, (he) was on top of me, punching my head. "My bailiff eventually ripped (him) off of me. I got up, dusted off my robe, fixed my chair, which had been knocked down, took my place on the bench, and dictated what had happened into the record. I then entered an order recusing myself from the case.

Despite the bleeding and bruising, I declined medical attention and refused to file a worker’s compensation claim. Hearing about the incident in Tallahassee, then-Chief Justice Jorge Labarga wrote me this note: ‘I want to commend you for the professionalism you displayed in handling what must have been a very disturbing situation. Your coolness and understanding was exemplary."

In Luck’s remarks today, he closed with a Jewish prayer and stated that he hoped that pray would guide him for the next 35 years on the bench; Luck is only 39 years old and with the constitutional amendment passing in 2018 allowing judges to serve until age 75, that would be possible.

Gov. DeSantis has one remaining appointment on the high court, and that name will come from one of the other nine JNC nominees that include:

Couriel, John Daniel,
Gerber, Jonathan D.,
Grosshans, Jamie Rutland,
Kuntz, Jeffrey T.,
Kyle, Bruce,
Muñiz, Carlos Genaro
Osterhaus, Timothy D.
Salario, Samuel J., Jr.
Singhal, Anuraag

THIRD DCA .......

Updating my post in the Comments section from last week concerning the subject, on Thursday, January 10, 2019, 3rd DCA Judge Kevin Emas was unanimously elected as Chief Judge of the 3rd, replacing Justice Barbara Lagoa, who had taken over as the Chief on January 1, 2019. Lagoa was named to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. DeSantis on January 8th.  With the naming of Judge Luck today, the 3rd DCA now has two new open seats. We expect the JNC to announce their request for Applications shortly.  Judge Emas began his career on the bench in 1996 with his appointment by Gov. Chiles to the County Court bench. In 2001, Gov. Bush appointed Emas to the Circuit Court.  Finally, in 2010, Gov. Crist appointed Judge Emas to his current seat on the 3rd DCA.  Emas will serve as Chief Judge until June 30, 2021. Judge Ivan Fernandez becomes the Chief-Judge Elect.

(Our apologies for Rumpole for posting over his Monday morning post entitled "Gavels Up", which you can read just below this post).

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

　

Gov. DeSantis Announces First of Three Supreme Court Justices .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .......

Governor Ron DeSantis today appointed BARBARA LAGOA to the Florida Supreme Court.  It is his first of three appointments to the open seats on the Court as the result of the retirement of Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince.

The announcement was made at the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami this morning.  Newly elected Attorney General Ashley Moody opened the event, followed by Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez, who introduced the Governor.

Judge Logoa, 51, has been on the 3rd DCA for the past 12 years, authoring 470 opinions. She was appointed to the 3rd DCA by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006 becoming the first Cuban American woman  appointed to that Court. She was the Chief Judge of the 3rd DCA, having assumed that role just nine days ago.  She was born in Miami and grew up in Hialeah, graduated from  FIU (BA, 1989) and then Columbia Law School (JD, 1992).  Her husband, is attorney Paul Huck, Jr, and her father-in-law, Judge Paul Huck, is a Senior Judge on the Southern District of Florida. In 2003 she joined the United States Attorney's Office as an AUSA where she tried numerous criminal jury trials, including drug conspiracies and Hobbs Act violations. She also handled a significant number of appeals.  She spent three years three before becoming an appellant court judge.  Prior to her work as an AUSA she worked at Greenberg Traurig and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, among other firms.

CAPTAIN OUT ......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

GOVERNOR SCOTT APPOINTS TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING: GOVERNOR DESANTIS WILL NAME THE NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ON WEDNESDAY at 10 AM with an announcement at the Freedom Tower in Miami.  Expect DeSantis to name a justice to fill the open seat for a justice that must reside in the 3rd Appellate District. The three finalists include: Judges Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck and attorney John Daniel Couriel.

Also, as I touched on below, Gov. Scott appointed a total of 76 people to various posts around the state last Friday.  DeSantis has indicated that he will be rescinding many of those appointments.  It is clear that DeSantis was not happy with Scott's actions in pulling off these last minute appointments.


YOUR TWO NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE ...

NATALIE MOORE.  Ms. Moore has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2006. She is currently an Assistant State Attorney and also a Training Director at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.  She previously served in the Hate Crimes Unit.  She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Carlos Guzman.

ROBERT WATSON. Mr. Watson has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2003. A Stanford law grad (Georgetown undergrad), he is currently a principal with the law firm of Kobre & Kim. Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Watson served as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Before that he practiced at Holland & Knight, where he focused on money laundering cases, commercial disputes and international arbitration. He currently represents corporations and individuals in white-collar criminal defense matters, regulatory enforcement actions and internal investigations. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese and focuses on representing clients in connection with matters related to Latin America.   He fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Alexander Bokor.

In case you were wondering, this is Governor Scott’s last day in office and therefore his last appointments to the bench.  Scott has been very busy over the holidays naming dozens of appointments to Boards, Committees, Commissions, and the bench.  While for the past eight years, he has almost always taken the full 60 days to review the JNC names sent to him before he selects a new judge, for these two appointments, Scott needed only 18 days to choose Ms. Moore and Mr. Watson as their names were included in a JNC correspondence sent to Scott on December 20, 2018.

Those that were not chosen from the JNC final list included:

Karl S.H. Brown, Peter S. Heller, Zachary James, Scott M. Janowitz, Jeffrey M. Kolokoff, Jonathan Meltz, Julie Harris Nelson, Christopher Pracitto, Manolo Reboso, and Stephanie Silver.

So now we will wait to see what kind of judges our new Governor will choose.  Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis, our 46th Governor of the Great State of Florida, will be sworn in on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 9 AM.

As one of his first acts that will have a lasting effect on our judicial system, expect Governor DeSantis to quickly name three replacements to the Florida Supreme Court.  That's because as of 5 PM tomorrow, Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince, will all be retiring.

Also on the Agenda, two open seats on the Miami-Dade Circuit Court. With the elevation of Judges Bronwyn Miller and Eric Hendon to the 3rd DCA, Desantis will get to name their two replacements.  The JNC is accepting applications until January 18, 2019, so don't expect to see their replacements named until early April.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com