Four women will sit on the Third District Court of Appeal bench for the first time, now that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Monica Gordo and Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Fleur Lobree.

Their elevations fill spots left by new Florida Justices Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck.

Judge Gordo, 43, handled appeals in the family division. She began her career in 1999 with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. By 2010, Gordo was special prosecutor for the gang strike force team before being elected to the circuit bench. She has also served on the Cuban American Bar Association's board of directors and received both her bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Miami.

Prosecutor and legal adviser Lobree, 50, is a former Miami-Dade Circuit judge. She was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2012, but was defeated when she ran for re-election in 2014. Lobree has also served on the county court bench and as assistant state attorney and assistant attorney general under Robert A. Butterworth. Originally from Indiana, she has a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a law degree from the University of Miami.

In a statement Thursday, DeSantis praised the new jurists.

He said, “These two brilliant legal professionals understand the proper role of the courts and they have demonstrated a firm commitment to our Constitution.”

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