Florida Supreme Court justice vacancy (December 2025)
| Florida Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Canady vacancy |
| Date: December 31, 2025 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Adam Tanenbaum |
| Date: January 14, 2026 |
Governor Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Adam Tanenbaum to the Florida Supreme Court on January 14, 2026.[1] Tanenbaum replaces Justice Charles Canady, who retired on December 31, 2025. In a statement dated November 17, 2025, Justice Canady announced he would step down to take a position at the University of Florida's Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.[2] Tanenbaum is Gov. DeSantis' eighth nominee to the seven-member supreme court. At the time of Canady's retirement, the court consisted of five DeSantis appointees and two justices initially appointed by former Governor Charlie Crist (R).
In Florida, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
If a midterm vacancy occurs, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends three to six qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year before running in a yes-no retention election.[3]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Florida Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2025.
The appointee
- See also: Adam Tanenbaum
Education
Tanenbaum obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Georgetown University.[1]
Professional career
Before joining the Florida Supreme Court, Tanenbaum served on the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal. In 2019, Tanenbaum was the general counsel to the Florida House of Representatives. He previously served as general counsel for the Florida Department of State and as chief deputy solicitor general in the office of the attorney general of Florida. He was also an assistant public defender.[1]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On December 30, 2025, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission released a list of six finalists who passed the interview portion of the application process. The list of six finalists will be sent to Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who will make the final appointment. The finalists were:[4]
- Appellate Court Judge Roger Gannam
- Senior council to the Florida Attorney General John Guard
- Appellate Court Judge Robert E. Long Jr.
- Appellate Court Judge Joshua Mize
- Attorney and former Appellate Court Judge Samuel Salario
- Appellate Court Judge Adam Tanenbaum[5]
Applicants
On December 18, 2025, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission released a list of 10 candidates that applied to succeed Justice Canady. The Commission will interview candidates on December 29, 2025. The applicants were:[6]
- Appellate Court Judge Alexander Bokor
- Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll
- Appellate Court Judge Roger Gannam
- Senior council to the Florida Attorney General John Guard
- Appellate Court Judge Robert E. Long Jr.
- District Court Judge Joshua Mize
- Circuit Court Judge Thomas Palermo
- Attorney and former Appellate Court Judge Samuel Salario
- Appellate Court Judge Jared Smith
- Appellate Court Judge Adam Tanenbaum[7]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Florida
In Florida, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Florida Supreme Court
Justices
Following Canady's retirement, the Florida Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Meredith Sasso | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2023 | |
| ■ Jorge Labarga | Appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in 2009 | |
| ■ Carlos Muñiz | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ John Daniel Couriel | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) 2020 | |
| ■ Jamie Rutland Grosshans | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ Renatha Francis | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2020 |
About the court
Founded in 1845, the Florida Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Carlos Muñiz.
As of January 2026, all seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.[8]
The Florida Supreme Court meets in Tallahassee, Florida. The court hears oral arguments from August through June of every year, typically during the first full week of each month.[9]
In Florida, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Canady
- See also: Charles Canady
Canady was born in Lakeland, Florida, on June 22, 1954.[10] He received a bachelor's degree from Haverford College in 1976 and a law degree from Yale University in 1979.[11] Following his graduation from law school, Canady returned to Lakeland where he worked as an attorney at the law firm of Holland and Knight.[11]
Canady represented House District 44 in the Florida House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990.[10] He was a registered Democrat during his tenure in the state House until 1989, at which point he switched his party affiliation to Republican.[10] In 1990, he ran as a Republican for Senate District 12 in the Florida State Senate and lost. In 1992, he was elected to represent Florida's 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House, a position he held until leaving office in 2001.
After leaving Congress, Canady became general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush (R), a position he held until Bush appointed him to the Florida Second District Court of Appeal in 2002.[11] Gov. Charlie Crist (R) appointed Canady to the Florida Supreme Court in 2008.[12][11]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2025
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2025
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2025. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2024.
| 2025 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 WCTV, "DeSantis appoints Adam Tanenbaum to Florida Supreme Court," January 14, 2026 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "appt" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Tallahassee Democrat, "Justice Canady to exit Florida high court for UF academic role," November 17, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedflajs - ↑ Note: Finalists are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
- ↑ The Florida Bar, "JNC certifies six nominees to fill Florida Supreme Court vacancy," December 30, 2025
- ↑ Note: Applicants are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
- ↑ The Florida Bar, "FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JNC ANNOUNCES APPLICANTS TO FILL VACANCY ON THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA," December 18, 2025
- ↑ Gov. Charlie Crist switched parties from Republican to Democratic during his term. The judges he appointed were during his time as a Republican, so they are considered appointed by a Republican governor.
- ↑ Florida Supreme Court, "Visiting the Court," accessed September 13, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Cite error: Invalid
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Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
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