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    • What you need to know about Florida Supreme Court justices
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    What you need to know about Florida Supreme Court justices

    Online Niel Posted on

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    Time to vote early in the November election draws to a close this weekend, with voters trying to get in some last-minute research on some of the candidates on the ballot.

    These candidates include two Florida Supreme Court justices: Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso.

    Every voter in the state is being asked whether the two should be retained at the state’s highest court. It’s a yes or no question, with a yes vote keeping them on the bench and a no vote removing them.

    Here’s what you need to know about Francis.

    What you need to know about the Florida Supreme Court

    • Florida Supreme Court: Florida’s highest court
    • Members: There are seven judges
    • How many are needed for a decision? At least five must participate in each case; at least four must agree to reach a decision
    • How long do I serve? Six years
    • What are they called?? Appointed to the court by the governor from a list of three to six names submitted by a judicial nominating commission.
    • When do they go to vote? In the next general election more than a year after the appointment, the new justice goes before Florida voters in a retention vote.
    • How much are they paid? $258,957 per year, acc Ballotpedia.

    right Florida Supreme Court websiteFrancis, 46, was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, where she ran small businesses while a full-time student. He attended the University of the West Indies, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. Her second career as a lawyer came after graduating from Jacksonville Law School. Her Florida Bar page shows she graduated in 2010 from Florida Coastal School of Law.

    Litigation and Class Action Practice Group, representing large corporate clients.

    “During his tenure on the bench, Judge Francis presided over large dockets, presided over numerous trials, and resolved hundreds of family, civil, probate and criminal law cases,” according to the Florida Supreme Court website.

    “Francis expressed that one of the significant issues facing the judiciary today is crisis of confidence in the judicial system, arising from a lack of public knowledge of the role of the judiciary.” This lack of confidence is an “opportunity to explain the structure of our government, why it matters, the role of the courts, and just really educating. to the public,” Francis said, according to the Florida Supreme Court website.

    Francis is the first Jamaican-American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court.

    Who Appointed Renatha Francis to the Supreme Court?

    Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Francis to the Florida Supreme Court in August 2022.

    DeSantis originally tapped Francis to fill another opening on the Supreme Court in 2020, but the court rejected her pick because at that time she he did not have 10 years of experience as a lawyer, a job requirement.

    Previously, she was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to the Circuit and County Courts of the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade from 2017-19. She was later appointed by DeSantis to the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County.

    Renatha Francis, Florida Supreme Court Justice, voting record

    • Regarding abortion: Francis voted for the state in Planned Parenthood v. State in April, in which a 6-1 decision upheld Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. At the time, Florida was already pushing for an even more limited six-week abortion ban, which depended on how the case played out. Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1.
    • Regarding the executive power: Twice since last year, Francis joined the majority of the court in rebuffing the efforts of former state’s attorneys TO appeal their suspension by DeSantis from the offices the voters elected them to hold. She also advocated limiting the ability of citizens to challenge government actions in court, according to The Tributary.
    • Regarding the legalization of weed: Francis and Sasso were the only dissenters to allow Amendment 3 on the ballot, which seeks to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.

    How to see how Renatha Francis voted in other cases

    To see how Francis voted on cases, go to Opinion page on the Florida Supreme Court website.

    You can also watch the court arguments live past case archives online and further Facebook.

    When does early voting end in Florida?

    You can vote early – and now! But not for long.

    Any election that includes a state or federal race must offer early voting, which must take place from at least the 10th day before the election to the third day before the election. Each county supervisor of elections can choose to offer multiple days of early voting, starting up to five days earlier or one day longer.

    For most counties, the last day to vote early is Saturday, November 2. The the list of dates and times by county is Here.

    When does early voting start? Final deadlines to remember before Florida’s 2024 general election

    Early voting has already started! There are only two critical dates to remember this election season:

    • Saturday, November 2: Early voting ends nationally; however, some counties offer an additional day on November 3.
    • Tuesday, November 5: Election day. Surveys will be open between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM in your time zone. Any voters still in line at 7pm will be allowed to vote for as long as it takes

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