The people of the state of Florida, through their elected officials, have chosen “merit selection” as a method of choosing judges through appointment. While the trial bench has remained subject, in part, to the elective process, the state’s appellate courts are solely within the province of the appointive process. Florida is one of 24 states, as well as the District of Columbia, in which judges are appointed to the bench using a nominating commission. Florida’s 26 judicial nominating commissions (JNCs) follow five basic steps in the appointive process: 1) acknowledging and advertising the judicial vacancy; 2) receiving applications by interested candidates; 3) vetting and interviewing prospective candidates by the nominating commission; 4) formulating a “short list” of nominees to be forwarded to the governor; and 5) the governor appointing a candidate from the list to fill the judicial vacancy.

Originally published in the The Florida Bar Journal, Volume 92, NO. 6 - June 2018.