Today, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Amy Bender, wife of Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender, to Florida’s Judicial First Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.
Amy Bender is senior counsel and assistant general counsel at Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and her juris doctorate from the University of Georgia. Bender is appointed for a term ending July 1, 2027.
Judicial Nominating Commissions (JNCs) select nominees to fill judicial vacancies within the Florida court system. There are twenty-eight separate JNCs: one for the Florida Supreme Court; six for each of the district courts of appeal; twenty for each circuit court and the county courts contained in that circuit; and one Statewide Commission for Judges of Compensation Claims.
The JNCs are required to operate in accordance with the Uniform Rules of Procedure applicable to each level of JNC. JNC members serve four-year terms, except when an appointment is made to fill a vacant, unexpired term. A JNC member may hold public office other than judicial office. JNC members are ineligible for appointment to any judicial office for which the JNC has authority to make nominations during his or her term and for two years thereafter.