Renee Gordon, left, and Vivianne del Rio, right. Courtesy photos.

With early voting in full swing ahead of Florida's Nov. 6 general election, here's a snapshot of the judicial candidates and incumbent judges vying for retention in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

Click on the names below to view each candidate's Daily Business Review Q&A.

Broward Circuit Judge

Group 38

Stefanie C. Moon and Jason Allen-Rosner. Courtesy photos.

Jason Allen-Rosner is a traffic hearing officer, civil litigator and former Broward public defender, admitted to the bar in 2004.

Stefanie Camille Moon specializes in business litigation and white-collar criminal defense, and has served in various government positions during her 22-year career, including assistant state attorney.

Group 46

H. James Curry is assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in the Southern region, encompassing Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, Fort Myers and Palm Beach counties. Curry has practiced law since 1996.

Maria Markhasin-Weekes, a prosecutor in the firearms unit of the State Attorney's Office and a former civil litigator, was admitted to the bar in 2008.

 

Broward County Court Judge

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Broward Circuit Court candidates Jackie Powell, left, and Allison Gilman. Courtesy photos.

Jackie Powell is a solo practitioner admitted to the bar in 1992 and former member of a large civil firm representing major creditors and lenders throughout Florida.

Allison Gilman is a private trial lawyer and former Broward County public defender, and has practiced for 25 years.

Group 9

Tanner Channing Demmery has worked on both sides of the aisle, first as a Broward County assistant state attorney in the sexual battery unit, then as bureau chief for the Middle Keys at the Monroe County State Attorney's Office.

Corey Amanda Cawthon has represented individuals and businesses as both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of cases, including personal injury protection, contract disputes, business transactions and litigation, real estate transactions and litigation, foreclosures and estate planning.

 

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge

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Renee Gordon has served as a trial attorney at the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office for 22 years, and ran a private practice for 12 years, specializing in civil, probate, juvenile and family cases.

Vivianne del Rio has been a Miami-Dade assistant state attorney since 1991, and has headed the post-conviction unit and the Justice Project.

 

Palm Beach Circuit Judge

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Scott Ryan Kerner and Alcolya St. Juste. Courtesy photos.

Alcolya St. Juste is a private juvenile dependency and family law attorney admitted to the bar in 2003.

Scott Ryan Kerner has handled complex litigation as a civil trial lawyer for 10 years, and has served as general counsel to the Humane Society of Greater Jupiter.

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Maxine D. Cheesman has been an attorney for 13 years, specializing in real property, fair housing, bankruptcy, probate, employment and contract law. She's also worked as a hydrogeologist, chemist and director for the South Florida Water Management District.

Marybel Reinoso Coleman, a civil lawyer and former state prosecutor, has practiced law for more than 25 years. At the Palm Beach office of the state attorney. she served as deputy chief of county court, and handled more than 50 jury trials and 300 cases.

Group 25

Sarah L. Willis is general magistrate and child hearing officer for the Palm Beach Circuit and served as assistant state attorney in the Special Victims Unit, handling complex, high-profile criminal cases involving capital sexual battery, rape, homicide and child abuse cases.

Michael McAuliffe is a shareholder at Atherton McAuliffe & Reeder in West Palm Beach, a former state attorney for the Palm Beach Circuit and a general counsel to Oxbow Carbon.

 

Palm Beach County Court

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Ashley Zuckerman is an assistant public defender in Palm Beach County, where she's taken at least 70 jury trials to verdict and handled numerous bench trials, motions and hearings on misdemeanor and felony cases.

Allegra Fung is a civil and criminal attorney of 18 years, and has also served as assistant public defender in the juvenile division.

 

Florida Attorney General 

Left to right: Ashley Moody, Jeffrey Marc Siskind and Sean Shaw. Courtesy photos.

Ashley Moody is running as a Republican, and has served as a Hillsborough Circuit judge and assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

Sean Shaw is as a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, a former lawyer and an insurance consumer advocate.

Jeffrey Siskind, a Wellington-based lawyer and Harvard University graduate, has made an independent bid.

 

Merit retention

South Florida voters will cast “yes” or “no” votes to keep or replace the following judges.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson rose to the high court in 2016, having served on the Fifth District Court of Appeal (DCA) for a decade.

Third DCA Judge Kevin Emas was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010, after serving on the Miami-Dade Circuit and Miami-Dade County benches.

Third DCA Judge Ivan F. Fernandez was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011 after almost 10 years on the Miami-Dade Circuit bench.

Third DCA Judge Norma Shepard Lindsey rose to the bench in 2017, appointed by Scott after serving as a Miami-Dade Circuit and County judge.

Third DCA Judge Robert Joshua Luck took office in 2017, appointed by Scott after presiding over the Miami-Dade Circuit criminal, civil, and appellate divisions.

Fourth DCA Judge Burton C. Conner was appointed to office in 2011 after more than 10 years on the Ninth Circuit bench.

Fourth DCA Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz was appointed by Scott in 2016 after more than a decade in civil litigation.

Fourth DCA Judge Carole Y. Taylor rose to her post in 1998, appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles.

 

Early voting in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach will run from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily, until Sunday, Nov. 4. All voters are required to bring photo ID that includes a signature.

 

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