Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Staff ReportsJanuary 9, 2019

Screen-Shot-2019-01-09-at-11.08.17-AM.png

With Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday appointing appellate judge Barbara Lagoa to fill a vacancy on the state’s Supreme Court, leaders in law, politics and business reacted: — Attorney General Ashley Moody: “As the first Cuban-American woman to serve on the 3rd District Court of Appeals and the author of more than 300 majority opinions, her […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 9, 2019

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Barbara Lagoa, chief judge of the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami, to be the newest justice and first Cuban American woman on the Florida Supreme Court. DeSantis announced his selection Wednesday morning at the Freedom Tower on Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard. Her “proven commitment to upholding the rule of law, unparalleled legal […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 8, 2019

Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ office on Tuesday said the new governor “will make an important announcement regarding the Florida Supreme Court.” The announcement is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Freedom Tower in Miami. DeSantis has three seats to fill; Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, and Peggy A. Quince all faced mandatory age-related retirement Tuesday. The next justices will […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJanuary 8, 2019

Floridians can expect a quick start to the Ron DeSantis administration, with the new governor ready to make key appointments to the state Supreme Court, announce a major environmental initiative and try to improve the medical-marijuana system. “Within the next week, I think you guys are going to have a lot to write about,” DeSantis […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 7, 2019

How was it possible for Amendment 4, the amendment restoring the voting rights of former felons, to get 64.55 percent of the vote in Florida? All statewide partisan races were close. Clearly, this vote was not partisan. I think the reason is one basic human instinct. Redemption. Americans believe in second chances. They believe in […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 7, 2019

Ron-DeSantis-Jeff-J.-Mitchell-Getty-Images.jpg

On Tuesday, I will raise my right hand on the steps of Florida’s Historic Capitol to take the oath of office in much the same tradition that 45 governors have before me. With my wife, Casey, and our two young children, Madison and Mason, watching, it will be a pointed reminder that to whom much […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJanuary 6, 2019

DeSantis-Rally-10-4-Tampa-for-Media-Release-e1546574638577.png

Ron DeSantis will be Florida’s youngest governor in more than a century when he takes office on Tuesday. DeSantis, a former congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, turned 40 about two weeks after he won the Aug. 28 Republican primary. He will be the youngest governor on Inauguration Day since Park Trammell took the oath of […]

Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 5, 2019

Removing party affiliation from several Hillsborough County elected positions might still be in play after a Florida Supreme Court decision upends what was once thought to be a done deal. Late in June, Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 5-2 to hold a referendum asking voters whether candidates for constitutional offices like Sheriff and Property appraiser should […]

Scott PowersJanuary 4, 2019

On Friday, Florida’s Supreme Court upheld an Orange County charter amendment to make the county’s constitutional officers nonpartisan, a decision that could open partisan and nonpartisan debates in other counties. By a 4-3 vote, the court quashed a lower-court ruling that had kept Orange County’s elections partisan for the constitutional offices of sheriff, tax collector, […]

Staff ReportsDecember 27, 2018

Grab your iPhones Xs, Pixels and Galaxy Notes: The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday debuted its first ever “smartphone-friendly” website. “We were one of the first courts in the world to use the web starting in 1994,” Chief Justice Charles Canady said in a statement. “Our new site continues a long heritage of transparency and openness […]

Tag: Florida Supreme Court

Newsmakers react to Barbara Lagoa’s Florida Supreme Court appointment

Ron DeSantis picks Barbara Lagoa for state Supreme Court

Ron DeSantis set to make first state Supreme Court pick

Ron DeSantis to move quickly on court, environment

Jon Mills: Redemption

Ron DeSantis: I’m committed to pursuing a bold agenda for Florida

Ron DeSantis brings ‘generational shift’ to Capitol

Florida Supreme Court could put Hillsborough nonpartisan races back in play

Supreme Court upholds Orange County’s nonpartisan elections law

Florida Supreme Court launches smartphone-friendly website