Jason Delgado
After failing to meet an earlier deadline, the Florida Supreme Court has again ordered Gov. Ron DeSantis to pick a new Florida Supreme Court Justice.
DeSantis was originally instructed to select a new Justice on Monday afternoon. The Court now, however, has given the Governor until 5 p.m. to certify compliance with the order.
“Trusting that the Governor would fully comply with the order, and consistent with our traditional practice, the Court withheld issuance of the writ of mandamus,” the order said. “The deadline has now passed. It appearing that the Governor has yet to comply, we hereby issue the writ of mandamus and order the Governor immediately to comply with the Court’s order.”
The standoff between Governor and Supreme Court comes after Windermere Rep. Geraldine Thompson successfully derailed DeSantis’s appointment of Judge Renatha Francis.
Francis is just shy of the 10-year Florida Bar membership requirement to sit on the Court, which drew a lawsuit from Thompson. The Governor ridiculed the lawsuit this week as “politically motivated” and “hypocritical.”
Francis, a Black woman and immigrant, would have been the first Jamaican-American on the Court.
In the Governor’s Daily Brief email sent Monday afternoon, the Governor’s Office said DeSantis would make an announcement regarding Francis and the Florida Supreme Court.
“Stay tuned!” said the newsletter.
Per the Supreme Court’s order, DeSantis must select a new appointee from an original list of finalists offered in January. Those remaining finalists include Miami Attorney Eliot Pedrosa, Judge Timothy Osterhaus and Judge Lori Rowe from the 1st District Court of Appeal, Judge Norma Lindsey of the 3rd District Court of Appeals, Judge Jonathan Gerber from the 4th District and Judge Jamie Grosshans and Judge Meredith Sasso from the 5th District.
Francis was originally tapped alongside John Couriel to replace former Supreme Court Justices Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck.
