TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – John D. Couriel was unanimously elected to be the next Chief Florida Supreme Court Justice, according to a press release.
The judge is set to succeed current Chief Justice Carlos G. Muniz, who officially steps down on June 30. Couriel was first appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020.
The Chief Justice is elected by the seven members of Florida’s Supreme Court and serves a two-year term starting July 1. Responsibilities for the chief justice include working as a “primary spokesperson” for the Supreme Court.
“For many years, procedural rules dictated a preference for the longest-serving justice on the court who had not been chief justice to be selected, a description Justice Couriel fits. The rules now call for selection “based on managerial, administrative, and leadership abilities, without regard to seniority only”, per the release.
Florida Politics:
Couriel is now set to be Florida’s 58th chief justice. According to a press release, he was a partner at Kobre & Kimm LLP and also an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
The newly appointed Chief Justice also previously worked at Davis Polk in New York for five years and was a law clerk for Judge John D. Bates at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Couriel, also a Miami native, earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Couriel said he was grateful.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for their trust and am indebted to the previous chief justices with whom I’ve served. I will do my best to serve the people of Florida as they so ably have.”
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