The Judicial Nominating Commission for the First Judicial Circuit announced on Mar. 23 that it has selected a list of nominees to fill two vacancies on the First Judicial Circuit Court. The vacancies were created by the retirements of Judge Shackelford and Judge Nobles.
The announcement follows interviews conducted with fourteen applicants on Mar. 20, after which the commission deliberated and considered each candidate. The names submitted to Governor Ron DeSantis, listed in alphabetical order and without preference, are: Andrew Abreu, Paul Bailey, Gary Bergosh, Erica Dlubala, Casey Etheridge, Matt Gordon, Patrick King, Codey Leigh, Stephen Luongo, Molly Snyder, Jeffrey Sumey, and Stephanie White.
In its statement, the commission thanked those who participated in the process. “The Commission sincerely thanks the members of the bench, bar, and public who took time to provide feedback about the applicants,” it said.
The next step will be for Governor DeSantis to review these nominations and appoint two individuals from this list to serve as judges in the First Judicial Circuit Court.
This process is part of routine judicial appointments following retirements or other vacancies within Florida’s judicial system.
