17TH CIRCUIT JNC ANNOUNCES COUNTY AND CIRCUIT COURT JUDICIAL VACANCIES
The Seventeenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission has been asked to provide Gov. Ron DeSantis with nominees for the vacancies in the Broward Circuit Court and the Broward County Court created by the resignation of Circuit Court Judge Johnathan D. Lott and County Court Judge Mardi Levey Cohen, respectively.
The Commission requests that interested candidates submit an application for consideration. Applicants must meet the qualifications for circuit and county court judges described in Article V, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution.
Applications must be received by 12 p.m. on Fri., Jan. 2, 2026, as follows: The application may be downloaded in pdf and word format .
(1) The original unredacted application shall be emailed in .pdf format to: [email protected]. Note: Receipt of the application will be confirmed in writing.
(2) A redacted .pdf of the application shall be separately emailed to [email protected]. Personal information not subject to public disclosure—such as a social security number—shall be redacted as permitted by Section 119.071 of the Florida Statutes.
(3) The application must indicate whether the applicant wishes to be considered for either the circuit, county, or both positions.
Untimely applications will not be considered. The filename for .pdf applications should be as follows: “FIRSTNAME LASTNAME Application (redacted or unredacted).” Applicants are asked to strictly follow all requests and instructions in this notice. Failure to do so could result in an application not being considered.
NOTE TO APPLICANTS: To assist the Judicial Nominating Commission in its review of applications, all questions must be fully and completely answered. Applications must include current contact information, including e-mail addresses, for judges, co-counsel, opposing counsel, and references to facilitate the background investigation that will be conducted by the members of the Commission. Please print to .pdf in lieu of scanning where possible.
Include (1) all letters of recommendation that the applicant wishes the Commission to consider; and (2) any additional information that the applicant feels may be helpful to the Commission in assessing the applicant’s qualifications. The application, letters, and additional information should be appended into one PDF file and the original and redacted files should be identical except for the confidential information removed in the redacted copy.
The Commission strongly suggests that applications be submitted as soon as they are prepared and well before the deadline. Applicants granted an interview will be scheduled in the order in which applications are received.
After the deadline for submitting applications, the Commission will determine which applicants will be interviewed. At this time, it is anticipated that interviews will be conducted in person on January 16, 2026, although this date is subject to change.
SEVENTEENTH CIRCUIT JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION MEMBERS
Camille Coolidge Shotwell (Chair) Coolidge Law Group, P.A.
110 SE 6th Street Suite 1700
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: 954-761-7781
Email: [email protected]
Eric Yesner (Vice Chair)
GrayRobinson, P.A.
401 E. Las Olas Blvd. Suite 1000
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: 954-761-8111
Email: [email protected]
Thomas D. Oates
Law Offices of Oates & Oates, P.A.
1701 East Atlantic Blvd., Suite 4
Pompano Beach, FL 33060-6767
Phone: 954-942-6500
Email: [email protected]
William G. McCormick
McCormick Law Firm, PLLC
401 East Las Olas Boulevard Suite 1400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: 954-761-8111
Email: [email protected]
Joseph S. Van de Bogart
FAU Office of the General Counsel 777 Glades Road, AD10-370
Boca Raton, FL 33431 Phone: (561) 703-5752
Valerie Barnhart
Barnhart Law Firm, P.A.
12555 Orange Drive FL 2
Davie, FL 33330-4340
Phone: 954-526-1814
Email: [email protected]
Alice K. Sum
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
801 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1950
Miami, FL 33131-4901
Phone: 305-982-6300
Email: [email protected]
Levi G. Williams, Jr.
Law Offices of Levi Williams, P.A.
12 SE 7th St., Suite 710
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-3474
Phone: 954-463-1626
John H. Richards
Boyd, Richards, Parker & Colonnelli
1600 W Commercial Blvd., Suite 201
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309-3006
Phone: 954-848-2460
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EDITORS: Please note The Florida Bar is not an association and "Association" is not part of our name. Proper reference is "The Florida Bar." Local bar organizations are properly termed "associations."