SHAWN ABUHOFF & 31 OTHERS APPLY TO JNC .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM FOR OUR ADDENDUM REGARDING THE 3RD DCA.

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT/COUNTY COURT JUDGE .....

The Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida is entering a busy stretch following the expansion of the bench in Miami-Dade County.

In 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 2508 into law, creating four additional County Court seats and three additional Circuit Court seats. Last year, the Governor filled two of the County Court seats and one Circuit Court seat. The JNC is now tasked with interviewing applicants for the remaining two County Court and two Circuit Court vacancies.

THE APPLICANT POOL .....

The JNC received 32 applications, divided as follows:

10 applicants for County Court only

11 applicants for both County and Circuit Court

11 applicants for Circuit Court only

The Commission will conduct interviews on March 13 and may nominate up to 12 candidates for County Court and 12 for Circuit Court.

A NOTABLE APPLICANT: ASA Shawn Abuhoff .....

One name that immediately stands out is Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff (and not because he is listed first). Abuhoff has applied for a seat on the County Court.

Many in the legal community will recall the high-profile disputes in 2024 and 2025 between the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and members of the criminal defense bar. Abuhoff was at the center of one such controversy in the case of State v. Pratt.

In that case, the defendant was charged with second-degree murder and represented by Assistant Public Defenders Natalie Ender and Lauren Dawson. During the proceedings, the Public Defender’s Office filed a motion seeking Abuhoff’s removal, alleging that he attempted to intimidate a key witness. Specifically, Ender claimed that Abuhoff and a police officer appeared near the home of witness Bridet Lampley and banged on the window of a car in which she was seated.

The presiding judge, Judge Wolfson, denied the motion.

Shortly thereafter, Abuhoff filed a motion seeking to disqualify Ender and Dawson, Abuhoff wrote in his complaint as to Ender and Dawson that “Their actions of tampering with a witness have made them witnesses themselves and created conflicts that this court can not ignore,” His office also publicly announced that both attorneys were under criminal investigation and that it was “in the process” of determining whether charges would be filed.*

Judge Wolfson denied that motion as well.

*No charges were ever filed against either Ender or Dawson.

FACDL-MIAMI ENTERS THE FRAY .....

The dispute drew the attention of the local chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL-Miami), which alleged a broader pattern of prosecutorial misconduct.

FACDL cited several incidents, including the removal of ASA Michael Von Zamft from the case of State v. Corey Smith by Judge Wolfson. The organization also publicly commented on actions taken by the State Attorney’s Office in the murder prosecution of OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney and the related charges against her parents.

Regarding the Ender and Dawson matter, FACDL’s Board of Directors issued a statement asserting that the State Attorney’s Office “continues to engage in a pattern of unethical misconduct” in cases where defense attorneys have “done nothing more than uphold their constitutional obligation and duty to defend their client.” The Board further criticized what it described as the unjustified public accusation of criminal conduct against defense counsel and their investigator.

The Miami Herald covered it in July of 2024 in two stories you can read here and here.

Here is a list of the 32 applicants:

COUNTY COURT ONLY

Shawn Abuhoff 
Yaneth Baez  
Johanna Benedi  
Madelin D’Arce** 
Kimberly Hillery 
Yvette Lavelle  
Gustavo Losa 
Marlin Muller  
Jeffrey Pierce  
Patricia Salman 

COUNTY & CIRCUIT COURT

Natalia Costea 
Yenly Dominguez  
Christian Dunham 
Aaron Feuer 
Scott Janowitz  
Jose Martinez 
Andrew McGinley 
Michelle Roth 
Monica Segura  
Alexander Shear 
Annette Strauch 

CIRCUIT COURT ONLY

(All are County Court Judges except for Mrs. Alvarez)

Destiny Goede Alvarez**
Rita Cuervo 
Miesha Darrough  
Elisabeth Espinosa  
Christopher Green  
Chiaka Ihekwaba  
Alicia Garcia Priovolos  
Jorge Perez Santiago 
Stephanie Silver 
Eleane Sosa-Bruzon 
Michelle Urbistondo  

**Destiny Goede Alvarez has been a member of The Florida Bar for five years (the minimum necessary to qualify to be a judge). She has two degrees from the University of Florida, she was President of Florida Blue Key, and she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Federalist Society.

She was an Intern for Federal Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone; spent a year working in the DeSantis Administration for the Department of Transportation; was an Associate at Gray Robinson for two years (is there any law firm more connected to the DeSantis Administration?!); and she is currently is a Partner at Goede, DeBoest, & Cross (the Goede is John Goede - her father we surmise)

Another interesting note: Attorney Madelin D’Arce, who applied for County Court, is also a Partner at Goede, DeBoest, & Cross. 

THIRD DCA JNC

The 3rd DCA JNC has announced that they will be conducting interviews of seven applicants to replace Judge Kevin Emas, who is retiring from the bench on March 31. The applicants are:

Jeffrey DeSousa

Judge Javier Enriquez

Judge Spencer Multack***

Judge Joseph Perkins

Judge Thomas Rebull

Thomas Ward

Judge Robert Watson

Interviews will take place on March 17, and the JNC will nominate up to six of the seven applicants to the Governor's office.

***Judge Multack could have an uphill battle to get the call from Gov. DeSantis. Multack sits in Family Court and, until last week, sat over a paternity case between Arlene Delgado and Jason Miller. The case has already gone through nine judges, and, at one point in the litigation, Delgado moved to recuse Multack from the case, arguing that he was biased for Miller. But recently, Miller decided he didn't like Multack either. 

Miller, according to a post from Above The Law, was all set to be the White House communications director for the first Trump administration when news circulated that he’d had an affair with fellow campaign staffer, Arlene “AJ” Delgado. Delgado has a 7-year-old son that she contends belongs to Miller. 

Last week, Miller went onto X (formerly Twitter) and tweeted (is that still a word), 

"I am actively opposing Florida Judge Spencer Multack's application to get a promotion to Florida's Third District Court of Appeal, and I will be activating EVERYONE I know and EVERY resource I have to stop his bid". 

Multack recused himself four hours later. You can read the story from Above The Law here. Florida Bulldog covered it here.

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

TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES NAMED .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND YOUR TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE .......

As I reported last week, the Governor was scheduled this week to name two new County Court Judges, to replace Judges Multack and Kravitz. Today, the Governor chose:

Ramiro C. Areces, age 35, a nine year member of The Florida Bar to replace Judge Shelley Kravitz. Arces worked for the firm of Jorden Burt before becoming a solo practitioner.

Elijah A. Levitt, age 39, a 14 year member of The Florida Bar to replace Judge Spencer Multack. He served both as an ASA in Miami-Dade County and an AUSA for the Southern District of Florida before becoming a solo practitioner.


Following up on Rumpole’s post from earlier today:

1:34 PM asks a great theoretical question:

Captain, what would happen if the candidates in one group had also applied through the JNC process and the governor appointed them to fill vacancies after qualifying day but before the election? Would qualifying be reopened to get candidates for the election? Or would the seat be considered vacant and the governor would get to appoint someone to fill it? 1:34 PM, Comments section.

The Captain Responds:

So, using a current race as an example, what if Milena Abreu and Mike Mirabal had both gone through the JNC process, both names had been sent to the Governor for two open seats, and the Governor picked both Abreu and Mirabal for the open seats (after May 4th, the last day to qualify, and before August 28th, the date of the election?)

Well, first, of course, Abreu and Mirabal would both become judges. Now, the problem is that both are currently running against each other in County Court Group 43, where the winner is scheduled to be decided in the August primary election.

So, with the Governor's two picks, nobody would be a candidate in Group 43.

But, what the questioner forgets is that, the seat, Group 43, is anything but vacant. In fact, Judge Joe Davis, (the current occupant of the Group 43 seat), is very much alive and well and serving out his final term which will end on January 2, 2019. Therefore, the seat is by no means open and the Governor has no power under Florida law to throw the seat to the JNC, for him to then choose the eventual replacement.

Instead, similar to when there is a death or resignation of a state house or state senate member, the Governor is authorized to call for a SPECIAL ELECTION pursuant to F.S. 100.101. The Dept. of State, pursuant to F.S. 100.111, would set the dates for the special qualifying period where new candidates can declare their intention to run for the seat. Once that qualifying period is closed, those that qualified would be the new candidates to be chosen by the voters.

Now, here is the kicker to all of that. If you follow the letter of the law, the Special Election could not occur until after August 28, 2018. Why is that? Because, F.S. 100.101 states that, the Governor cannot call for a Special Election until such time as:

(1) If no person has been elected at a general election to fill an office which was required to be filled by election at such general election.

So, after August 28th, when no candidate would have been chosen by the voters to take over the seat in January, (because there were no candidates remaining on the ballot), only then could he call the Special Election. And if you read further into the statutes, the Dept of State would likely set qualifying dates very soon after the Governor calls for the Special Election, likely in early September. And the date of the Election would undoubtedly take place on the same date as the General Election on November 6th, 2018.

Thanks for that very interesting question. We are always here to provide our readers with the answers to those burning questions, and always at Horace's disposal to handle the affairs of judicial elections, the JNC, and the like.

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