Five South Florida judges and one attorney are one step closer to becoming a judge on the Fourth District Court of Appeal as the Judicial Nominating Commission has sent their names to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the final say.

The successful candidate will replace Judge Carole Taylor, who retired March 31.

Here's who's in the running:

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Edward Artau works in the juvenile division and has already sat as an associate judge for the Fourth DCA by special designation. He rose to the bench in December 2014 after 10 years as general counsel and senior litigator for the South Florida Water Management District. Artau began his legal career at Hodgson Russ, became a senior attorney at Proskauer Rose and was a partner at Marks & Artau.

Artau holds a bachelor's degree from Nova Southeastern University and a law degree from Georgetown University.

Broward Circuit Judge Fabienne E. Fahnestock is chair of the unified family division, which hears delinquency and dependency cases in conjunction with related issues such as domestic violence. Appointed to the bench in 2017, Fahnestock is a former shareholder at Gunster's Fort Lauderdale office, where she focused on business, employment, appellate and health care law.

Fahnestock obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Miami, her master's degree from Nova Southeastern University and her law degree from the University of Florida.

Manuel Farach is a litigator at McGlinchey Stafford in Fort Lauderdale, where he specializes in complex real estate and business cases. Farach is board certified in real estate law, business litigation and appellate law, is a certified mediator and has served as an arbitrator for 30 years.

Farach earned his bachelor's degree at Stetson University and his law degree at Florida State University.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Renatha Francis oversees the family and probate divisions, and recently moved from the Miami-Dade Circuit to fill a vacancy following the death of Judge Meenu Sasser. Francis was an attorney at Shutts & Bowen before she rose to county court in 2017, and is also in the running for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court.

Francis holds a bachelor's degree from the University of The West Indies and a law degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law.

Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes rose to the bench in December 2009. He's a former assistant U.S. attorney and assistant state attorney, and also served as a Department of Justice civil tax trial attorney.

Haimes obtained his bachelor's and law degree at the University of Notre Dame.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Caroline Cahill Shepherd began her judicial career on the Palm Beach County Court bench in June 2009, before being elevated to circuit in September 2019. Before then, she served as an assistant state attorney in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, and was assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Shepherd holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California and a law degree from New England Law.

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