Latest Hillsborough judicial picks by DeSantis again include no Black people

Just five of the county’s 68 circuit or county judges are Black in a county in which Black people make up 18 percent of the population.

A second round of county court judge appointments in Hillsborough just announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis again includes no Black people, worsening what some local Black lawyers consider under-representation of African-Americans on the bench.

The new appointees are badly needed. A long-standing shortage of judges in Hillsborough has led to huge case backlogs in the lower-level courts that hear small-claims cases.

Last spring, the Legislature funded six new positions. DeSantis filled three plus an existing vacancy in September and announced appointees for the remaining three last week.

None of the seven appointees were Black, even though the Judicial Nominating Commission recommendations for the appointments included Black applicants. Two of the 18 recommended for the most recent appointments are Black.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/12/10/latest-hillsborough-judicial-picks-by-desantis-again-include-no-blacks/