Miami Judge Robert Luck has been appointed as the newest justice to join Florida’s Supreme Court. Luck is Governor Ron DeSantis’ second appointment to the state’s highest court in less than a week.
Luck was appointed to South Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal by former Governor Rick Scott in 2017, following a nearly four-year stint in circuit court. He also previously served as a U.S. attorney in Florida’s Southern District.
Accepting the job alongside Governor Ron DeSantis at Scheck Hillel Community School Monday, Luck became the first Jewish justice in 20 years to serve on the State Supreme Court.
“This morning, Governor, with you standing by my side, I have taken an oath to make the Constitution, and not the judiciary supreme,” Luck said.
DeSantis, during his inaugural festivities, emphasized Supreme Court appointments as some of his first priorities. The Governor has made a vocal push to do away with what he calls “judicial activism.”
“Now I think both the Executive and the Legislative branches in Florida have had a lot of frustration with that third branch of government – the Judiciary – constantly usurping more and more legislative power over the years,” DeSantis said. “Well that ends tomorrow, and we will fix that.”
Last week the newly-minted Governor appointed Barbara Lagoa to the State Supreme Court. Lagoa also comes from the Third District Court of Appeal, and is the first Cuban-American woman to serve on the Court. Like Luck, Lagoa appears to mesh well with DeSantis’ criteria:
“I am particularly mindful of the fact that under our constitutional system, it is for the Legislature, not the courts, to make the law,” Lagoa said while being sworn in at Miami’s Freedom Tower – where her parents were processed as Cuban exiles more than 50 years ago.
DeSantis will appoint one more judge to the state’s highest court, after three justices reached the mandatory retirement age.
