On Thursday the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Governor Ron DeSantis exceeded his authority when he appointed a judge to a vacancy on state’s highest court. It’s because Judge Renatha Francis had not been a member of the Florida Bar for at least 10 years. That’s a requirement of being a Florida Supreme Court Justice. But the high court ruled that it would not take action because there isn’t a “legal justification for us to require a replacement appointment from a new list of candidates, rather than from the one that is already before the Governor,” as requested by a state Representative who brought the issue before the courts. The high court said the correct remedy would have been “an appointment from the existing list of eligible nominees.” So, Francis is expected to begin her term in September, the ten-year anniversary of her membership in the Florida Bar.
Read the Florida Supreme Court’s full decision below:
https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/content/download/643604/7309482/file/sc20-985.pdf
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