Gray Rohrer
Aspiring Florida Supreme Court justices have two more weeks to apply for the open position on the state’s high court. The Judicial Nominating Commission extended the deadline after only three people applied for the vacancy created when former Justice Ricky Polston resigned last month.
The new deadline to submit an application is April 17 at 5 p.m.
When former Justice Alan Lawson retired last year, 17 people applied.
Tampa lawyer Belinda Noah, Judge Thomas Palermo of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County, and Sixth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Meredith Sasso submitted their applications ahead of the JNC’s original deadline.
Once the applicant pool is set, the JNC, a nine-member panel, will interview and vet candidates before submitting a slate of three to six names to Gov. Ron DeSantis to select.
Noah is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association who unsuccessfully ran for Tampa Mayor earlier this year as a write-in candidate, garnering 7.5% of the vote in losing to incumbent Jane Castor. She was suspended from practicing law by the Florida Supreme Court for 30 days in 2014 over her alleged shoddy handling of a bankruptcy case.
Palermo graduated from FSU Law School in 2001 and was a state and federal prosecutor for 18 years before DeSantis appointed him to the 13th Circuit Court in 2019.
Sasso graduated from UF Law School in 2008 and served in private practice until she joined former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration as deputy general counsel in 2016. Scott appointed her to the 5th DCA in one of his last acts as Governor in January 2019. After the Legislature created a new 6th DCA, she was formally transferred to the new court on Jan. 1.
The creation of the new 6th DCA could add another wrinkle to the appointment process. The Florida Constitution requires each of the appellate courts to be represented on the Florida Supreme Court. Before the 6th DCA was created, five justices came from one of the five appellate courts and two members were at large appointments.
The 6th DCA’s jurisdiction covers Orange, Osceola, Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Hendry, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Lee counties. Sasso is the only candidate that currently resides in the 6th DCA, although it’s unclear if Polston’s replacement would be required to come from the 6th DCA.
3 comments
Non-ADA Lawsuit Billy the Bamboozler
April 4, 2023 at 11:13 am
More Hitlers on the bench. God and baby Jesus help the children growing up in this ancient Roman police state. This theocratic dictatorship. This flim flam bamboozle. Many unwanted babies will feed GOP slave plantations.
Charlotte Greenbarg
April 4, 2023 at 5:47 pm
This is the kind of frothing at the mouth spew that defines the far left
steven parmley
April 5, 2023 at 3:01 pm
palermo CANNOT get that position!! this judge is so willing to violate the law, operate on a buddy system and and made clear that his division is not a due process division while violating every due process right possible. i have well documented proof of so many of his violations of law and rules of professional conduct and code of judicial conduct. it needs to published publicly.
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