Justice Canady ends 17-year tenure on Florida Supreme Court, looks to shape next generation at UF
Justice Charles T. Canady, who served on the Florida Supreme Court since 2008 and as chief justice three times, will step down to join the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education in 2026.
Justice Charles T. Canady — often described as ethical, principled, and devoted to public service — announced November 17 that he is stepping down from the Florida Supreme Court to take a position at the University of Florida.
“It has been my great privilege to serve the people of Florida as a justice of the Supreme Court for the last 17 years,” Canady said in a statement released by the court. “I will always deeply value my years on the Court. But the time has come to move on to another position of public service.”
The three-term chief justice, who guided the Judicial Branch through the COVID-19 pandemic and ushered in an era of remote practice, will begin 2026 as director and a tenured professor at UF’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.
“I’m very grateful to UF Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini and Interim President Don Landry for this opportunity,” Canady said in the statement. “And I am eager to begin my work with the outstanding students and faculty at the Hamilton School.”
According to the university’s website, the Hamilton School aims to cultivate critical thinkers with “the courage to ask bigger questions,” modeled after the collegiate traditions of Oxford and Cambridge. Students engage with “the ideas and habits of thought that founded our country and sustain our free society.”
Canady is one of the few Floridians to have served in every branch of state government. His public career has been marked by high-profile and often high-pressure assignments. While in Congress, he coined the term “partial-birth abortion” in the debate over a national ban and served as one of the House prosecutors in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.
Later, as general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush, he stepped into crisis as the state confronted the disappearance of toddler Rilya Wilson, an incident that exposed deep failures in the foster care system and ultimately led to major reforms and the resignation of the DCF secretary.
In 2002, Canady left politics for the judiciary, joining the Second District Court of Appeal before being appointed to the Florida Supreme Court in 2008.
During the 2022 Annual Florida Bar Convention, with only days left in his third term as chief justice, Canady declared the judiciary “strong” and credited judges, lawyers, clerks, and justice partners for reducing a massive pandemic-related civil backlog by more than 60% in a single year.
“As chief justice, it’s been my privilege to work with all of the chief judges . . . it’s just a wonderful team,” he said, extending his thanks to trial judges, lawyers, court clerks, and administrative leaders. He also emphasized the support the branch received from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature.
A day after Canady announced his impending departure, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz briefly interrupted a Supreme Court tour of a group of visiting lawmakers to pay tribute to his friend and mentor.
“He’s truly a great Floridian, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that,” Muñiz told members of the House Justice Budget Subcommittee. “When I came here 25 years ago, he was an inspiration to me.”
Canady is a “man of great integrity” who is “incredibly smart” and “a joy to work with for all of us,” Muñiz said.
CHIEF JUSTICE CHARLES CANADY passes the gavel to incoming Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz at the end of his third term as chief in 2022. “He’s temperamentally well-suited for the academic environment,” Muñiz said recently. “The Hamilton School has a really noble mission, consistent with things that he believes in strongly, consistent with his opinions. He will continue to serve our state and do something that he finds challenging.”
Canady was the first justice in modern times to “infuse Florida jurisprudence” with “respect for accountability, respect for democratic ideals, and respect for the taxpayers,” Muñiz said.
Muñiz noted that the jurisprudential principles Canady holds have become widely accepted.
“In Florida, Justice Canady was an intellectual leader in introducing those ideas in Florida jurisprudence in a very concrete way. He will have a legacy that lasts,” Muñiz said.
Canady will prove to be a great asset to the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, Muñiz predicted.
“He’s temperamentally well-suited for the academic environment,” Muñiz said. “The Hamilton School has a really noble mission, consistent with things that he believes in strongly, consistent with his opinions. He will continue to serve our state and do something that he finds challenging.”
Born in Lakeland in 1954, Canady received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979. He practiced with Holland & Knight in Lakeland and later with Lane, Trohn, et al.
He served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives (1984 - 1990) and four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1993 - 2001), where he sat on the Judiciary Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
After serving as Gov. Bush’s general counsel, he was appointed to the Second DCA in 2002 and to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008. He served as the state’s 54th chief justice from 2010 - 2012 and was elected by his colleagues to serve again in 2018 and 2020.
Canady is married to Rep. Jennifer Houghton Canady, R-Lakeland. They have two children.
