FIFTEENTH CIRCUIT JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION ANNOUNCES JUDICIAL VACANCY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 28, 2017
CONTACT: Gregor J. Schwinghammer, Jr., Chair; gschwinghammer@gunster.com,
Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission
TELEPHONE: (561) 650-0595

The Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Committee announces one vacancy for a Circuit Court Judge position, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Thomas H. Barkdull. The Judicial Nominating Commission has been asked to provide Gov. Rick Scott with nominees for the Circuit Court vacancy.

Qualifications of Applicants:

Applicants must be able to fulfill the Constitutional qualifications before assuming the office of Circuit Court Judge, which require the person to be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar for the preceding five years, a resident of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and a registered voter in the State of Florida.

Instructions for Submission:

1. The current Judicial Application form must be used and can be downloaded in Word version from The Florida Bar’s website. Applicants should ensure they are using the correct and current form.
2. The completed application must be typed and bound. The application must include a photograph.
3. In addition to the original application, applicants must provide the following: (i) three (3) copies of the completed application, (ii) one redacted copy of the application excluding all exempt information under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes or other applicable public records law; and (iii) an electronic copy of the application on nine (9) individual flash drives in PDF format with the applicant’s name on the exterior of the flash drives. The pdf of the application (including all exhibits and attachments) must be a single file not to exceed 8 Mb. No other attachments or files are to be included on the flash drives. All printed copies should be two-sided.
4. Applications. The deadline for submission of the completed application is 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 13, 2017. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. The completed application, copies and flash drives must be delivered to Palm Beach County Bar Association at its temporary offices, 515 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 800, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401. (Note this is the temporary office, not the previous location at the PBCBA permanent offices.) Please ensure the Application is complete, including all required responses (including references, case style and contact information regarding recent cases, and class standing and degree information regarding education), and all required attachments (writing sample, financial disclosure, photograph). Incomplete applications may not be considered.
5. Interviews. The JNC has not determined the date for any interviews. If the JNC conducts any interviews, they will likely occur in early or mid-January, 2018. Applicants should check with the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s website [www.palmbeachbar.org] for information as to date and time of any interview. 

After the deadline for submitting applications, the Commission will publish on the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s website: [www.palmbeachbar.org] the date, time and location of any interviews that the JNC chooses to conduct. Any interviews will be done in person; no telephonic interviews will be scheduled.

All JNC proceedings are open to the public, except for deliberations. Applications are not confidential. If an applicant is nominated, all materials attached to the original application will be submitted to the Governor.

A list of members of the Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission is available from The Florida Bar’s website at www.floridabar.org.

Members of the bench, the Bar and the public are urged to contact the members of the Commission concerning applicants for judicial positions.