Jesse Scheckner
Gov. Ron DeSantis is rewarding Miami Assistant State Attorney Christopher Green for his nearly three decades as a government lawyer with a judgeship.
On Tuesday, DeSantis’ office announced the appointment of Green to the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County. He’ll replace Judge Elijah Levitt, who resigned abruptly in September, citing “family matters” requiring a move outside the county.
In a ruling last week, a federal judge admonished several current and former prosecutors, including Levitt, for violating the Sixth Amendment guarantees of three men found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison in a 2017 mail fraud case. Former Gov. Rick Scott appointed Levitt to the bench in 2018.
DeSantis selected Green from six finalists nominated by the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
Other nominees included property insurance claims lawyer Gilberto Barreto, commercial and construction litigator Heloiza Correa, Public Defender administrator Kevin Hellman, Scott Janowitz and Jeffrey Koloioff.
In October, Miami attorney David Winker told the Daily Business Review the candidates were all “very strong nominees that have been in the trenches and come from a bunch of different backgrounds.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Green currently serves as the chief of the Circuit Court’s litigation division,
Before joining State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office in 2000, he worked for about a year as an associate attorney with the Miami law firm Cole White & Billbrough (now Cole Scott & Kissane).
Between 1993 and 1999, Green was a Miami-Dade Assistant Public Defender.
He received his juris doctor from Nova Southeastern University in 1992 after earning a Bachelor of Communications in 1989 from Maryville University of Saint Louis, a private institution where he graduated cum laude.
Between August 2013 and 2014, Green served as Chair of the Florida Bar Eleventh Circuit Grievance Committee “J,” a volunteer, grand jury-like panel that decides whether there is probable cause to believe a lawyer violated conduct rules and warrants discipline.
In 2011 and 2012, South Florida Legal Guide recognized Green as a “Top Government Attorney,” according to his city of Miami bio.
He’s also a musician. On Sept. 10, he played in the winning band at the “Dade Legal Aid Annual Battle of the Legal Bands” in Wynwood. Proceeds from the event went toward providing legal services for impoverished Miami-Dade residents.
A Florida Bar write-up of the event listed Green as the rhythm guitarist for “crowd favorite” band The 540s. His bandmates included Miami-Dade Judge Carlos Gamez on saxophone and lead vocals, Mesa & Mesa Accounting & Tax Services President Michael Mesa on bass and backing vocals, Legal Radius Deposition Management Systems manager Richard Santo on lead guitar and backing vocals, Avanti Way Realty adviser Alejandro Herrera on drums and Equitable Advisors principal and managing director Adam Weinrich on keyboard.
They beat three other acts, composed mostly of lawyers, to take the top prize.
