Who wants to be a state Supreme Court justice? No one — yet

The panel charged with helping to find the next Florida Supreme Court justice meets in two weeks to decide which applicants to interview.

One hitch: There aren’t any yet.

That’s probably because the applications are very involved, said Jason Unger, the Tallahassee attorney who chairs the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.

And just like guests at a party, nobody wants to be the first to arrive, he added. Unger expects applications to start rolling in this week before the Nov. 11 deadline.

The panel will screen the applications and recommend six people for consideration to Gov. Rick Scott, who makes the pick.

The opening was created by the retirement of Justice James E.C. Perry. The 72-year-old announced his retirement on Sept. 12.

He stayed past the mandatory retirement age of 70 because of a provision allowing justices whose “70th birthday occurs in the second half of their six-year term (to) remain on the bench until the full term expires.”

It will be Scott’s first appointment to the state’s high court and an opportunity to add to its conservative minority of Charles Canady and Ricky Polston.

The progressive wing includes Perry, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, and Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara J. Pariente, and Peggy A. Quince.

Quince is the only other African-American justice on the seven-member court besides Perry.

The commission is scheduled to interview finalists on Nov. 28 and submit a list of possible replacements by Dec. 13.