Florida Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2023)
| Florida Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Polston vacancy |
| Date: March 31, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Meredith Sasso |
| Date: May 23, 2023 |
Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Meredith Sasso to the Florida Supreme Court on May 23, 2023. Sasso succeeded Justice Ricky Polston, who retired on March 31, 2023. Polston's replacement was Governor DeSantis' (R) fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.[1]
At the time of the vacancy under Florida law, 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.[2]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Florida Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- 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 2023.
The appointee
- See also: Meredith Sasso
Governor Ron DeSantis nominated Meredith Sasso to the Florida Supreme Court on May 23, 2023. Sasso was confirmed and took office later that same day.[3]
Meredith Sasso was born in Tallahassee, Florida. Sasso graduated from Leon High School in 2001.[4] She earned bachelor's degrees and a juris doctor from the University of Florida in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Sasso's career experience includes working as the chief deputy general counsel of the Executive Office of the Governor under Rick Scott, a trial attorney with Sanabria, Llorente et. al., an associate with Hayes Law, P.L., an associate with Broussard & Cullen, P.A., and a law clerk.[4][5]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Applicants
Three candidates applied to fill the vacancy:[6]
- Sixth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Meredith Sasso
- Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Thomas Palermo
- Attorney Belinda Gail Quarterman Noah
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Florida
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.[2]
Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission
At the time of the appointment, vacancies were filled by the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission.
The Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, is an independent state commission in Florida established by state statute that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process. The governor appoints all nine of the commission's members.[7]
Florida uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection for its state courts. Using this method, the governor appoints state judges from a list of names submitted by the commission. This selection method is used for all appointments for the supreme court and courts of appeal while being used only for vacancies at the circuit and county court level.
The commission is a governor-controlled commission, which means that there is a majority of members chosen by the governor. As of October 16, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Florida Supreme Court
Justices
Following Polston's retirement, the Florida Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Charles Canady | Appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in 2008 | |
| ■ Jorge Labarga | Appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in 2009 | |
| ■ Jamie Rutland Grosshans | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ Renatha Francis | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ John Daniel Couriel | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) 2020 | |
| ■ Carlos Muñiz | Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2019 |
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 May 2023, 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 Polston
- See also: Ricky Polston
Justice Polston joined the Florida Supreme Court in 2008. He was appointed to the court by Governor Charlie Crist (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Polston served as a judge on the Florida First District Court of Appeal and worked as an adjunct professor at Florida State University.[4]
Polston earned a juris doctorate from Florida State University College of Law, a bachelor's degree from Florida State University, and an associate degree from Chipola College.[4]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2023
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2023
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2023. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Ron DeSantis to get fifth Supreme Court pick as Rick Polston retires from Florida Supreme Court," March 20, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial selection: Florida," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "DeSantis installs another conservative on Florida’s Supreme Court," accessed May 25, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Volusia Exposed, "Application For Nomination To The Fifth District Court - Meredith L. Sasso," accessed June 1, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, "Judge Meredith L. Sasso," accessed June 1, 2023
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "3 apply for Florida Supreme Court seat, including Hillsborough judge and Tampa attorney," accessed April 26, 2023
- ↑ The Florida Bar, "Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed April 11, 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
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||
