Supreme Court of Florida

Petition for writ of mandamus compelling the Governor of the State of Florida to fill a vacancy created in the state's Fifth District Court is granted where the Florida Constitution mandates that the Governor appoint a judicial nominee within sixty days of the certification of nominees by the Judicial Nominating Commission. The Governor also lacks authority under the constitution to seek a new list of nominees from the Judicial Nominating Commission and has a mandatory duty to fill the vacancy with an appointment from the list certified to him.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/06/2009
• Published 07/06/2009

Judges

• LABARGA, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Talbot C. D'Alemberte of D'Alemberte and Palmer, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner., Siobhan Helene Shea, Chair, Appellate Practice Section, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, FL, on behalf of Appellate Practice Section, The Florida Bar;  Keersten Heskin Martinez of Fisher, Rushmer, Werrenrath, Dickson, Talley and Dunlap, P.A., Orlando, FL, and Joyce C. Fuller of J.C. Fuller, P.A., Winter Park, FL, on behalf of The Central Florida Association of Women Lawyers;  and Charles E. “Chuck” Hobbs, II, Tallahassee, FL, on behalf of The Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP, as Amici Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jason Gonzalez, Gerald B. Curington, Erik M. Figlio, and Carly A. Hermanson, Executive Office of the Governor, Tallahassee, FL, for Respondent.