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Florida Supreme Court delivers its wish list for new judges to the state Legislature
Florida needs to add 10 trial judges to keep up with caseloads in its trial courts, the Florida Supreme Court said Wednesday. However, the state can eliminate four judgeships within its county courts, the justices said. In its annual assessment of the demand for judgeships in the state, the justices said there is no need […]
Gov. DeSantis names another Federalist Society-linked attorney to Supreme Court search panel
The panel conducting the search for two new justices of the Florida Supreme Court has picked up a new, and conservative, member: Harout Samra, who specializes in international arbitration and civil litigation in the Miami office of the DLA Piper law firm. Gov. Ron DeSantis named Samra to the judicial nominating commission for the Supreme […]
Gov. DeSantis’ political allies at home and abroad are beset by scandals, with Israel’s Netanyahu indicted and Trump facing impeachment
Even before he became the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis aspired to become this country’s most-pro-Israel governor. He aligned himself with both President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sharing their advocacy of an aggressive Zionism. DeSantis underscored his fidelity through a high-profile trade mission to Israel in late May, his first foreign trip […]
Panel will work around holidays to vet fresh candidates for the Florida Supreme Court
Update: Gov. Ron DeSantis formally asked the commission on Monday evening to begin its search for replacements for the now-former Florida Supreme Court justices. The commission set a 6 p.m. Dec. 24 deadline for submitting applications. An advisory panel expects to begin interviewing potential justices of the Florida Supreme Court in mid- to late January, […]
Gov. DeSantis and President Trump confer on plan to import cheaper Canadian pharmaceuticals
Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to President Trump by telephone Thursday about Florida’s hopes to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, the governor’s press office said. Aides announced the chat via an update of the governor’s daily schedule issued about 20 minutes after the phone call commenced at 3:30 p.m. Communications Director Helen Aguirre Ferré had […]
Wheels start turning on process to replace FL Supreme Court justices Lagoa and Luck
An advisory commission will confer by telephone on Monday morning regarding the search for candidates to replace Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck as justices of the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Bar announced Thursday. The Judicial Nominating Commission scheduled its conference call for 11:30 a.m. Once the justices tender their formal resignations, Gov. Ron DeSantis […]
Senate OKs FL Justice Barbara Lagoa for 11th Circuit, flipping it Republican
The U.S. Senate agreed Wednesday to confirm Barbara Lagoa, who served for less than a year on the Florida Supreme Court, for a seat on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, giving Gov. Ron DeSantis yet another vacancy to fill on the state’s highest court. The 80-15 vote came one day after the Senate […]
FL’s Justice Luck wins Senate vote on nomination to 11th Circuit; Lagoa clears key hurdle
Robert Luck will move into a seat on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and his Florida Supreme Court colleague Barbara Lagoa moved a step closer to following him, because of floor votes Tuesday in the U.S. Senate. The Senate voted, 64-31, to approve President Trump’s nomination of Luck to sit on the 11th […]
U.S. Rep. Demings to ousted ambassador: “As a woman, I can’t be prouder of you”
Orlando Democratic Rep. Val Demings defended ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch Friday against slanders launched by President Trump and his allies. “As a woman, I can’t be prouder of you, and I consider you an inspiration for women around the world,” Demings, a former police chief, said to Yovanovitch during the second day […]
FL’s Val Demings hammers Trump’s ‘rogue, back-channel’ Ukraine maneuvers as impeachment hearings open
Val Demings – the only Floridian serving on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee as it opened impeaching proceedings Wednesday against President Trump – focused her questioning how on Trump’s “shadow” policy in Ukraine damaged U.S. national interests. In addition, she suggested, Trump sought illegal overseas aid against a political opponent and slimed a veteran diplomat […]
PAC report: DeSantis fundraising neared $835K during October
The Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee recorded its largest monthly haul this year during October, collecting more than 100 donations totaling $834,625, including $100,000 from a philanthropist who favors Israeli and Jewish causes. Cherna Moscowitz, widow of the late Irving Moscowitz, is also a major benefactor of America First Action, President Trump’s super PAC, […]
Canadian diplomat dubious over Florida’s plans to import cheaper pharmaceuticals
A Canadian diplomat is pouring cold water on Florida’s hopes to import cheaper pharmaceutical drugs from Canada on a mass scale. “We do sympathize with Florida’s situation, but we want to get the point across that the Canadian market, while safe and secure, is just too small to make a real impact on U.S. drug […]