The Florida Supreme Court under Chief Justice Charles Canady. Courtesy photo

An assortment of 59 lawyers and judges from South Florida and beyond have responded to the Judicial Nominating Commission's call for applicants to fill the shoes of three departing justices of the Florida Supreme Court.

The JNC will deliberate on replacements for Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy A. Quince, who face mandatory retirement in January.

Who's raised their hand?

Gov. Rick Scott has asked the JNC to select three to six names from this list to progress to the next round. Pariente, Lewis and Quince will step down on Jan. 7, 2019, the day before Florida's next governor will be sworn in.

Here's a look at the dozens of candidates in the running.

Third District Court of Appeal Judges Barbara Lagoa, Norma Lindsey, Robert Luck and Edwin A. Scales III. Courtesy photos

From the Third DCA:

• Judge Barbara Lagoa served as a civil and criminal lawyer, and as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida before Gov. Jeb Bush appointed her to the bench in 2006.
•  Judge Norma Lindsey served on the Miami-Dade Circuit and the Miami-Dade County Court before Scott appointed her to the appellate bench in 2017.
• Judge Robert Luck was appointed in 2017 by Scott after serving in the Miami-Dade Circuit and County courts.
• Judge Edwin Scales III became the first Monroe County lawyer on the court when he was appointed by Scott in 2013.

 

Fourth DCA Judges Jonathan Gerber, Mark Klingensmith and Jeffrey Kuntz. Photo: royalty free.

From the Fourth DCA:

• Chief Judge Jonathan Gerber was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009.
• Judge Mark W. Klingensmith was appointed by Scott in 2013.
• Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz was appointed by Scott in 2016 after more than a decade in civil litigation.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe. Photo: Melanie Bell/ALM.

From South Florida Courts:

• Palm Beach Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe served as a trial lawyer for almost 20 years before rising to the bench in 2016.
• Broward Circuit Judge Anuraag Singhal became the county's first Indian-American judge when he rose to the bench in 2012.
• Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alexander Spicola Bokor was appointed in 2016 following an eight-year stint as Miami-Dade assistant county attorney and a several years in commercial litigation.
• Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas serves in the criminal division and was first elected in 2004.
• Palm Beach Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr., former councilman to Wellington Village, practiced law for 30 years before he was appointed to the bench in 2014.
• Palm Beach County Court Judge Bradley Harper serves in the criminal division, a seat he won in 2016.
• Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick was appointed to the bench by Bush in 2000 and has also served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

 

Amy Brigham Boulris. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM

South Florida lawyers:

• Trial and appellate lawyer Amy Brigham Boulris defends property rights and land use cases at Gunster's Miami office, which she has specialized in for 30 years.
• Business Lawyer John Daniel Couriel of Kobre & Kim in Miami represents clients in high-stakes cross-border disputes and specializes in Latin America. Couriel has also served as prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Southern District of Florida.
• Commercial litigation attorney Manuel Farach of McGlinchey Stafford in Fort Lauderdale has counseled businesses spanning various industries for more than 30 years.
• Appellate lawyer Edward Guedes of Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole & Bierman in Miami is a former finalist nominee for the Florida Supreme Court and represents national companies in a range of industries.
• Constitutional and property rights attorney Mark Miller of the Pacific Legal Foundation in Palm Beach Gardens specializes in appellate law and was appointed to serve in the Fourth DCA Judicial Nominating Commission by Scott in 2018.
• Civil litigator Haden Patrick O'Byrne of K&L Gates in Miami represents individuals and entities in high stakes litigation, specializing in deceptive trade practices, unfair competition and product liability.
• Employment lawyer Leonard Samuels of Berger Singerman in Fort Lauderdale handles multistate litigation involving breach of contract, fraud and alleged discriminatory conduct.
• Mediation attorney Donna Greenspan Solomon of Solomon Appeals in Fort Lauderdale specializes in business litigation, mediation and arbitration. and clerked at the Fourth DCA for Pariente.

Other Florida lawyers and judges in the running:

• Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Michael F. Andrews
• Second District Court of Appeal Judge J. Andrew Atkinson
• First DCA Judge Ross Bilbrey
• Civil litigator Jeffrey Leonard Burns
• Sarasota Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll
• Highlands Circuit Judge Angela Jane Cowden
• Indian River Circuit Judge Cynthia Cox
• Duval Circuit Judge James Daniel
• Escambia Circuit Judge James Scott Duncan
• Appellate lawyer Bryan Gowdy
• Fifth DCA Judge Jamie Rutland Grosshans
• Okaloosa Circuit Judge Terrance R. Ketchel
• Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle
• Hillsborough Circuit Judge Laurel M. Lee
• Leon Circuit Judge Robert Long Jr.
• Duval Circuit Chief Judge Mark Mahon
• First DCA Judge Scott Makar
• Polk Circuit Judge Michael Patrick McDaniel 
• U.S. Department of Education lawyer Carlos Genaro Muniz
• First DCA Judge Timothy Osterhaus
• Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Thomas Ramsberger
• Duval Circuit Judge Eric C. Roberson
• First DCA Judge Clayton Roberts
• Martin Circuit Judge William Roby
• Second DCA Judge Samuel Salario Jr. 
• Jacksonville lawyer Tatiana Radi Salvador 
• Corporate lawyer Stephen R. Senn
• Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa
• Leon Circuit Chief Judge Jonathan Sjostrom
• Bay County Judge Elijah Smiley
• Duval Circuit Judge Adrian Soud
• Polk Circuit Judge John Stargel
• Marion Circuit Judge Anthony M. Tatti 
• Tampa attorney Matthew Thatcher
• First DCA Judge M. Kemmerly Thomas 
• Duval Circuit Judge Waddell Wallace III
• First DCA Judge Thomas Winokur

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