ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday named to the Florida Supreme Court a state appellate court judge who pledged his allegiance to a legal theory that a law’s meaning doesn’t change over time, giving the Republican governor his sixth conservative appointee to the seven-member court.
Adam Tanenbaum, a judge on the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, promised to adhere to the principles of “originalism” during a speech announcing his appointment to Florida’s highest court at Seminole High School in the St. Petersburg area, where he had graduated.
Judges shouldn’t be afraid to fix, and shouldn’t have to follow, an “erroneous interpretation of the text,” said Tanenbaum, who previously was general counsel for the Florida House of Representatives and had served on the legal staff of other state agencies.
“Sometimes the circumstances require boldness to restore our jurisprudence to its historical roots,” he said.
Tanenbaum filled a spot on the Florida Supreme Court previously held by Charles Canady, who left after 17 years as a justice to take a position at the University of Florida.
Among the cases facing the Florida Supreme Court this year are whether a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana for adults can be on the ballot in the fall and if the statewide prosecutor’s office can pursue election crimes.
Before announcing the new justice, DeSantis said the Florida Supreme Court should exert its administrative powers over the state’s legal profession, citing the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision to no longer require that Texas law schools be accredited by the American Bar Association.
“I think that there’s room, you know, to be really, really bold,” DeSantis said.
Justices on the Florida Supreme Court can serve until they are age 75, when they are required to retire. But to keep their jobs, they must face voters who answer “yes or no” on the ballot over whether they should be retained. A retention vote is held during the first general election more than a year after their appointment, and then every six years after that.
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