2ND CIRCUIT JNC ANNOUNCES JUDICIAL APPLICATION DEADLINE AND INTERVIEW DATES
As a result of the elevation of Judge Lance Neff to the District Court of Appeal, there is a vacancy on the Second Circuit Court bench. Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked the Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission to provide him with a list of highly qualified nominees for the vacancy by no later than Saturday, May 23, 2026.
Complete, unredacted applications for these vacancies must be received before 10 a.m. on
Mon., April 20, 2026, at:
2nd Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission
Attn: William N. Spicola
c/o Komisar Spicola, P.A.
101 North Gadsden Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32302
The current judicial appointment application may be downloaded from the Office of the Governor. For these vacancies, the Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission will not accept the previous version of the application.
The Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) will meet at 5 p.m. on Mon., April 20, 2026, telephonically at 605-475-4000. Participant Pass code 1071698#. Members of the public are invited to attend.
AGENDA:
- Call to Order
- Review the list of applicants for vacancies and assign vetting.
- Adjourn
Interviews will be held in person on May 11, 2026, in Tallahassee Florida. Applicants who were interviewed for the previous vacancies will not be re-interviewed. Additional information regarding the location and interview schedule will be forthcoming.
Neither incomplete applications nor applications submitted after the deadline will be considered. Further, all applicants must meet the qualifications for the circuit court judges outlined in Article V, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution.
No Paper Copies of the application will be accepted. Please submit a thumb drive with a PDF of the original application, and a PDF version of the application with personal information not subject to public disclosure redacted as permitted by Section 119.071 of the Florida Statutes.
Please also include a digital photo with the applications. To assist the commission, all questions on the application must be fully and completely answered. Applications must include current contact information (especially direct phone numbers), including email addresses, for judges, co-counsel, opposing counsel and references to facilitate the background investigation that will be conducted by the members of the commission. Applicants shall not initiate contact with the commissioners until the nominees are submitted to Gov. DeSantis.
All proceedings of this Judicial Nominating Commission are open to the public except for deliberations. Accordingly, applicants should not expect their application to be kept confidential. If an applicant is nominated, all materials attached to the original application will be submitted to Gov. DeSantis’ office. If there are any questions about the application process, please contact William Spicola at the number above.
The members of the Judicial Nominating Commission include the following: William N. Spicola, Chair, Kristina R. Osterhaus, Vice Chair, David Arthmann, Denise M. Harle, Carly A. Hermanson, Nick Meros, Tim Moore, Amanda Neff, and Jason Vail.
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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."