A lawsuit accusing Governor Ron DeSantis of violating the Florida Constitution by failing to fill a judicial seat has been filed against him for the second time in less than a month. Gary Edinger, a lawyer from Gainesville, petitioned the state Supreme Court on Friday to compel DeSantis to name a judge for the 8th Judicial Circuit in North Florida.
According to the complaint, DeSantis failed to appoint within 60 days after receiving a list of candidates from the 8th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, which is required under the constitution. On June 4, the commission forwarded to DeSantis a list of six candidates to succeed Circuit Judge Mark Moseley, who resigned in April.
According to Friday’s petition, DeSantis’ eventual choice for the seat would not need to be on the ballot until 2028 if he does not appoint someone by August 18. In the petition, Edinger’s attorneys for the ACLU Foundation of Florida stated that the new judge would be on the ballot for the 2026 primary elections if the appointment was made by August 18, one year prior.
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties comprise the 8th Judicial Circuit. The petition stated that the governor’s failure to fill the vacancy by August 18, 2025, 10 days from now, will deprive the court of its full complement of judges, burden the people of Florida who depend on a functioning judiciary for the effective administration of justice, and threaten to deny the circuit’s voters the chance to vote on the governor’s appointee at the next election.
A comparable case concerning a vacancy in the Tallahassee region’s 2nd Judicial Circuit was filed on July 3. Following DeSantis’ appointment of Judge Jason Jones, the case was dismissed on July 14.
Florida News Service
