Renatha Francis

Renatha Sian Francis[2] is a justice-designate of the Supreme Court of Florida.

Renatha Francis
Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
Designate
Assuming office
September 24, 2020
Appointed byRon DeSantis
SucceedingRobert J. Luck
Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
Assumed office
November 4, 2019
Appointed byRon DeSantis
Preceded byMeenu Sasser
Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
In office
June 4, 2018 – November 4, 2019
Appointed byRick Scott
Preceded bySarah I. Zabel
Succeeded byRamiro Areces
Judge of the Miami-Dade County Court
In office
August 14, 2017 – June 4, 2018
Appointed byRick Scott
Preceded byJason Dimitris
Personal details
Born1976/1977 (age 42–43)[1]
Jamaica[1]
EducationUniversity of the West Indies (BS)
Florida Coastal School of Law (JD)

Early life, education, and career

Francis was born and raised in Jamaica, attending the University of the West Indies and receiving a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in 2001.[3] She operated a bar and a trucking company while attending college in Jamaica.[3][4]

Francis moved to Florida in 2004 and graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2010.[3][4] She began her legal career as a law clerk at Florida's First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee from 2011–2017.[3]

Francis worked briefly as a litigator at the law firm Shutts & Bowen in Miami before being appointed to the Miami-Dade County Court in 2017 by Governor Rick Scott.[3][4] Scott elevated her to Miami-Dade's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in 2018, and Governor Ron DeSantis laterally appointed her to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County in 2019. Francis was assigned to the probate and family division at the Fifteenth Circuit.[4]

Florida Supreme Court

On May 26, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis announced he was appointing Francis to the Supreme Court of Florida.[5] Francis will be the first Caribbean-American on the court, and may possibly be the first Caribbean-American to sit on any state’s supreme court.[6]

Because the Florida Constitution requires Supreme Court justices to have been a member of the Florida Bar for ten years, Francis in ineligible to serve until September 24, 2020.[7]

Personal life

She and her husband Phillip are the parents of two sons.[8]

References
  1. "Application for Nomination to the Florida Supreme Court" (PDF). The Florida Bar. December 4, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  2. "Section Member Profile – Renatha Sian Francis – The Florida Bar". Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  3. Hinds, Lester (2020-05-27). "Renatha Francis Is First Jamaican Judge In Florida Supreme Court". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  4. Gross, Samantha J. (2020-05-26). "Ron DeSantis announces two more appointments to the Florida Supreme Court". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  5. Wilson, Kirby (May 26, 2020). "Ron DeSantis Announces two More Appointments to the Florida Supreme Court". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. Killian, Mark D. (May 26, 2020). "Francis, Couriel appointed to the Florida Supreme Court". The Florida Bar. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  7. Musgrave, Jane (2020-01-23). "Supreme Court finalist from PBC couldn't take job for six months". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  8. "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Renatha Francis to Serve as First Jamaican-American on the Florida Supreme Court" (Press release). May 26, 2020.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Sarah I. Zabel		 Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
2018–2019		 Succeeded by
Ramiro Areces
Preceded by
Meenu Sasser		 Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
2019–present		 Incumbent
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