Palm Beach Circuit Judges Jeffrey Colbath and Meenu Sasser. Courtesy photosSearch is on to Replace Judge Meenu Sasser, One of South Florida's Most Beloved Jurists
The Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission has delivered 11 names to Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill two judicial vacancies left by retiring Judge Jeffrey Colbath and Sasser, who died in July.
September 10, 2019 at 03:48 PM
3 minute read
Palm Beach Circuit Court will soon have two major vacancies to fill from the impending retirement of Chief Judge Jeffrey Colbath and the death of Judge Meenu Sasser.
Colbath has served the court for about 17 years since his election in September 2002. And Sasser was among the jurists that Palm Beach County attorneys repeatedly voted among the most respected in the circuit.
The Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission has sent a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis naming 11 candidates to fill the vacancies left by Sasser's July 6 death and Colbath's impending Sept. 30 retirement. DeSantis has the final word on judicial appointments and has the option to select among the finalists.
Nominees include several prosecutors with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office including Chief Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis, Melanie Casper and Michael J. Rachel. The assembled roster also lists a number of sitting judges, including Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Renatha Francis, Palm Beach County Judges Paige Gillman, Bradley Harper and Caroline Shepherd, as well as Palm Beach County Magistrate Maxine Williams.
West Palm Beach private practitioner Alcolya J.L. St. Juste is also listed, as is Mark Miller, an attorney with the West Palm Beach office of national libertarian firm Pacific Legal Foundation. Sarah Levien Shullman, the South Florida bureau chief for the Florida Attorney General's Office, is a finalist as well.
Read the full list of names the JNC sent to Gov. DeSantis:
Palm Beach Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission chair Gregor J. Schwinghammer Jr. said the group was working in response to Colbath's May 20 retirement letter to DeSantis when Sasser died.
"The JNC then announced that it would accept additional applications so that it could provide nominees for two vacancies," he said. "This was obviously a more difficult process to complete because of the loss of Judge Meenu Sasser, who was an excellent judge, but more importantly an outstanding human being."
By Aug. 1, the commission had arranged to meet with 40 applicants for the two vacancies. The interviews "lasted late into the evening," Schwinghammer said.
Now it falls upon DeSantis to announce his choices in about 60 days after certifying the nominations under the the Florida Constitution.
Erin Kraeft, the JNC coordinator for DeSantis' office, did not return requests for comment by press time.
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