Nominees named for new appeals court
The Sixth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission has advanced 18 candidates for three vacancies.
The nominees are Michael Paul Beltran, Danielle Lynn Brewer, Paetra T. Brownlee, Kyle S. Cohen, Angela Jane Cowden, Christopher Dale Donovan, Stephen S. Everett, Zachary M. Gill, Gerald Paul Hill II, Michael S. Kraynick, Diego M. Madrigal III, Michael Patrick McDaniel, Michael Thomas McHugh, Joshua Mize, Jared Edward Smith, Patricia Lynn Strowbridge, Jennifer Anne Swenson and Keith F. White.
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Cowden, a graduate of Florida Southern College, and Hill are both administrative judges with the 10th Judicial Circuit, and McDaniel and Swenson are circuit judges.
The commission interviewed 33 applicants, according to a news release from The Florida Bar. Polk County Judge Brandon Rafool and Stephen Senn, a Lakeland attorney, were among the applicants.
The Florida Legislation passed a bill in this year’s session to create the Sixth District Court of Appeal. The court, based in Lakeland, will handle appeals of cases from the 10th Judicial Circuit, which includes Polk County, as well as the Ninth and 20th circuits.
The Second District Court of Appeal, originally based in Lakeland, will move to Pinellas County.
Sarah Corbett, a career staff attorney for the Second District Court, has been selected as director of central staff for the new court. She has served the Court of Appeal since 2003 and is currently a law clerk for Judge Andrea Smith.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Nominees named for new state appeals court based in Lakeland
