19-03-2025
13 judges and lawyers vie for key Florida appellate court seat
Thirteen Florida attorneys and judges have applied for a vacancy on the state's 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, according to the court's judicial nominating commission.
The applicants are vying to take the place of Judge Brad Thomas, an appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush who was on the court since 2005 and retired as of Feb. 28.
It's a plum judicial spot: The 1st DCA is one of the more high-profile courts in the state. It's headquartered in the capital and often hears appeals in cases involving the governor and state government.
Overall, it handles civil and criminal appeals from five judicial circuits across north Florida.
The list of applicants released Wednesday includes:
Francis A. Carbone II, general counsel for the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities in Tallahassee.
Amie E. DeGuzman, a Jacksonville-based workers' compensation attorney.
Stephen S. Everett, a circuit judge in Tallahassee and the first ever to be appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Brittany O. Finkbeiner, an administrative law judge in Tallahassee.
Jennifer J. Frydrychowicz, a circuit judge in Pensacola.
R. Todd Harris, a circuit judge in Pensacola.
Joshua M. Hawkes, a circuit judge in Tallahassee.
William S. Henry, a circuit judge in Panama City.
Timothy J. Inacio, an attorney in private practice in Cantonment.
Lance E. Neff, a circuit judge in Tallahassee and a former general counsel for the Florida Department of Corrections.
Kyle B. Sill, a judicial law clerk for the 1st DCA.
Ray Treadwell, a partner in the Lawson Huck Gonzalez law firm of Tallahassee and a former chief deputy general counsel for DeSantis.
George M. Wright, a circuit judge in Gainesville.
Also, the commission selected Nathan Adams of the Holland & Knight law firm in Tallahassee as its chair and Amber Nunnally, a partner in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen, as vice-chair.
The commission will interview candidates on Thursday, April 3. Interviews will be held at the 1st District's courthouse, Room 3360, 2000 Drayton Drive, Tallahassee.
The interview schedule will be released "at a later date."
According to The Florida Bar, "Appellate judges in Florida have the same selection and retention process as Supreme Court justices. They are appointed by the governor after being screened by judicial nominating commissions (JNCs). They face their first retention votes within two years and thereafter, if retained, every six years."
According to the governor's office, "Applicants interview with the JNC, which then determines by majority vote which applicants to recommend to the governor for consideration. The JNC has no more than 60 days from the time it is requested to convene to nominate no fewer than three and no more than six applicants to the Governor.
"The governor (then) has 60 days to appoint a judge from among the nominees."
Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@ Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida's 1st DCA vacancy draws top legal contenders
