There are a dozen candidates to choose from, but only two will get to wear the coveted robe.

Tuesday the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit announced its nominations for appointments to fill two vacancies: one created by the retirement of Miami-Dade County Court Judge Fred Seraphin, and the other in the circuit court, where Judge Michael Hanzman retired after more than a decade of public service.

In March, the Miami-Dade Circuit Court transferred Judge Thomas J. Rebúll to the complex litigation section of the civil division.

Rebúll was Hanzman’s immediate replacement, but his name was not on the just-released list from the JNC, which makes recommendations Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the final word on judicial appointments in state courts.

Related: ‘I Have a Big Robe to Fill:’ This South Florida Judge Just Landed a New Role

Nominees for County Court

Among the county court bench nominees is Gilberto Barreto, a partner at Geyer Fuxa Tyler Attorneys at Law in Miami.

Barreto has over two decades of experience as an insurance litigator representing plaintiffs and defendants. He has tried jury and non-jury civil trials in state and federal court.

Related: DeSantis, Poised to Appoint Next Miami-Dade Judge, Will Choose From These 6 Finalists

Another nominee, Rita Cuervo is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Business and an associate with Andrews Biernacki Davis in Miami. She has over 10 years of experience in insurance and criminal defense.

Cuervo obtained her law degree from Florida State University College of Law in 2004.

Fellow nominee Kevin Hellmann has served at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office for about 25 years.

Other attorneys, including the partners at Markus/Moss, had high praise for this candidate.

“Kevin Hellmann would be the kind of judge the people of Miami deserve—fair, experienced, smart, dedicated, respected and respectful, hard-working and decisive,” Margot Moss said.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]