13th JNC seeks applicants to fill two judicial vacancies
Gov. Ron DeSantis has convened the 13th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission to select and submit the names of qualified candidates to fill the two circuit court vacancies created by the elevation of Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord-Moe and the resignation of Judge Samantha Ward.
Judicial applications for these vacancies must be received before 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25.
c/o Max Amster, Chair
Thirteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission
Veridis Management LLC
Applicants must have been a member of The Florida Bar for the preceding five years and must be a registered voter. The individual appointed must reside in the 13th Judicial Circuit at the time that he or she is appointed.
The “Judicial Appointment Application 2025” may be downloaded from the Office of the Governor (https://www.flgov.com/eog/info/judicial/applications). The application has been substantially revised since the last time the 13th JNC convened. Be sure to download and use the current application.
Applicants must submit:
- One digital (electronic) signed copy of the application (as a .PDF).
- One digital (electronic) signed copy of the application (as a .PDF) with personal information not subject to public disclosure redacted as permitted by Section 119.071, Florida Statutes, and suitable for production in response to public records requests.
All questions in the application must be fully and completely answered. The submitted application must include the required financial disclosures, writing samples, and a recent color photograph. Applications must also include current contact information, including email addresses, for all judges, co-counsel, opposing counsel, and references to facilitate the background investigation that members of the commission will conduct. Applications and redacted applications must be in .PDF form. The two .PDF files should be named in a “last name.first name” format. For example: Bob Smith should submit two file names: (1) Smith.Bob.pdf and (2) Smith.Bob-REDACTED.pdf. No paper applications will be accepted.
Interviews are anticipated to occur the week of May 19. The location will be announced in the next press release. Applicants selected to be interviewed will be contacted to confirm the time of the interviews. A complete interview schedule will be published in advance of the interviews. A remote appearance option will be made available for the public to attend the interviews.
All proceedings of the JNC are open to the public except for deliberations. Accordingly, applicants should not expect their applications to be kept confidential. If an applicant is nominated, all materials attached to the original application will be submitted to the governor.
Questions about the application or interview process should be directed to the Chair, Maximillian Amster.
The members of the 13th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission are:
Maximillian Amster, Chair: [email protected], 813-575-2266
Candace Rich, Vice-Chair: [email protected], 813-274-6000
Andrew J. Mayts, Jr.: [email protected], 813-227-2248
Charles Reynolds: [email protected], 954-361-6984
Adam D. Griffin: [email protected], 813-857-0008
Jennie Granahan Tarr: [email protected]; 813-956-6760
Diego Pestana: [email protected], 352-346-1220
Samuel Salario: [email protected], 813-765-5113
Matthew Hall: [email protected], 813-559-5523
Members of the bench, the Bar, and the public are urged to contact the members of the commission concerning applicants for judicial positions.
