Cecilia María Altonaga is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is the first Cuban-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the United States.
Charles Joseph Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012;he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010.
The district courts of appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Florida state court system. There are currently six DCAs:
Barbara Joan Pariente is an attorney and jurist from Florida. She was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from July 1,2004,until June 30,2006. Pariente is the second woman to hold the position of chief justice and served on the court from 1997 to 2019. From 1993 to 1997 she was a judge on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal.
John D. Minton Jr. is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court from 2008 to 2023. Minton was elected to the Supreme Court on July 24,2006,to fill a vacancy created by Justice William S. Cooper,who retired on June 30,2006. On the retirement of Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert,Minton was elected by his fellow justices to replace him. He was sworn in as chief justice on June 27,2008.
Ricky L. Polston is an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 2008 to 2023. He served as the chief justice of the court from July 2012 to June 2014. He is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law.
Joseph Woodrow Hatchett was an American lawyer and judge. He worked in private practice,was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit,and served on the Florida Supreme Court.
Joseph Abruzzo is a Democratic politician from Florida. He serves as the Clerk of the Circuit Court &Comptroller for Palm Beach County,an independently elected office established by Florida’s Constitution.
Shutts &Bowen LLP is an AmLaw 200 law firm with 270 attorneys in seven offices in the State of Florida. Shutts &Bowen was founded in 1910. Frank B. Shutts came to Miami in 1909 and became the legal representative of Henry M. Flagler and the Florida East Coast Railway Company. In 1910 he formed a professional association with Henry F. Atkinson. In 1912 Crate D. Bowen joined the firm which settled on the name Shutts and Bowen in 1919. In 1910 Shutts organized the Miami Herald Publishing Company and was its President and principal stockholder. Shutts and Bowen is ranked as the 175th largest law firm in the United States. Its offices are located in the Florida cities of Miami,Fort Lauderdale,West Palm Beach,Orlando,Tampa,Sarasota and Tallahassee. According to statistics submitted to American Lawyer,Shutts &Bowen recorded $147 million in revenue for the year 2015,up 7.7% from 2014,with profits per partner averaging $740,000 in 2015,up 5.7% from $700,000 in 2014.
James E. C. Perry is an American judge. He is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
Barbara Lagoa is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to becoming a federal judge,she was the first Latina and Cuban American woman appointed to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
The Florida State Courts System is the unified state court system of Florida.
David M. Kerner currently serves as the Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. He is the former county mayor and a county commissioner for,Palm Beach County and a former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. He is a sworn law enforcement officer and is a former special prosecutor. He also is a practicing complex litigation trial attorney in West Palm Beach,Florida,and is known as a leader on issues relating to constitutional law,criminal law,judicial issues,and law enforcement issues. He lives in Lake Worth Beach,.
James Elliott Alderman served a six-year term as justice for the Florida Supreme Court from 1978 to 1985,retiring after a personal tragedy forced his return home to tend the family business. Alderman's term notably came about as one of the first appointed justices after an amendment abolished direct elections for vacancies. He died in Vero Beach,Florida,on June 10,2021.
Florida Amendment 4,also the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,is an amendment to the Constitution of Florida passed by ballot initiative on November 6,2018,as part of the 2018 Florida elections. The proposition restored the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation. The amendment does not apply to Floridians convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
Renatha Sian Francis is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida since 2022. She previously served as a circuit judge in Palm Beach County from 2019 to 2022.
A general election was held on Tuesday,November 8,2022,to elect candidates throughout Florida,as part of the 2022 midterm elections. The results of the elections showed strong Republican Party outcomes as nearly every Republican candidate won in a landslide. As a result,Republicans now control every statewide office in the state for the first time since Reconstruction. Political analysts believe the results may be an indication that the state has transitioned from being a swing state into a reliably Republican red state.
