Credit: Adobe

We know finding information about judges and Supreme Court justices is difficult.

Abortion has become a central issue this election cycle in Florida and across the U.S., as states continue to face the fallout of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. v. Wade.

On the ballot this year in Florida is Amendment 4, a measure that, if approved, would enshrine the right to abortion in the state Constitution and legalize abortion up to viability, which generally occurs between the 24th and 26th week of pregnancy. Currently, abortion in Florida is banned after six weeks in most all cases, before many people even learn they’re pregnant. Just three years ago, abortion was legal in Florida up to the third trimester, or about 28 weeks of pregnancy, for comparison’s sake.

Also on the ballot this year are judicial candidates who are up for retention. That is, you can vote “yes” for them to retain their positions, or “no” to vote them out. These positions are officially listed on the ballot as nonpartisan, but some judicial candidates nonetheless have a documented history of either supporting or obstructing access to abortion.

However, to give Orlando Weekly readers a cheat-sheet, we figured we’d help save you the trouble of trying to figure out where some of these judicial candidates stand on the issue, if abortion rights is an issue you happen to care about. Some news you can use, if you will.

Here are the judicial candidates who are against abortion.

Related

Supreme Court Justices

There are seven justices who make up the Florida Supreme Court and two of them — both Gov. DeSantis appointees — are up for a retention vote this year. Both have a record indicating they are anti-choice when it comes to abortion access.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Renatha Francis: Anti-abortion

Justice Renatha Francis was appointed by DeSantis to her position on the state’s highest court in 2022. He previously tried to appoint her in 2020, but she wasn’t yet qualified for the role. Prior to her current position, she worked as counsel at a law firm, working on class action and mass litigation and spent six years clerking for the 1st District Court of Appeals.

Where does she land on the issue of abortion? Well, if you recall, on April 1, the Florida Supreme Court issued two rulings: one allowed Florida’s pro-abortion Amendment 4 to go on the ballot this year. The other upheld the 15-week abortion ban and thus allowed Florida’s current six-week ban to go into effect one month later. Francis wrote the dissent on the ruling that allowed Amendment 4 to go into effect: “One must recognize the unborn’s competing right to life, and the state’s moral duty to protect that life.”

Francis is also a member of the Federalist Society, a legal group dedicated to help conservatives (like those that overturned Roe v. Wade) climb the judicial ranks and secure appointments to influential courts.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso: Anti-abortion

Justice Meredith Sasso — wife of Valencia College board of trustees member and Public Employees Relations Commissioner Michael Sasso — was appointed to the state’s highest court by DeSantis in 2023. She had previously been appointed by DeSantis to serve on the 6th District Court of Appeals and, before that, worked in the Office of General Counsel to Gov. Rick Scott. Sasso, like Francis, dissented on the ruling that allowed Amendment 4 to make it onto the ballot. Meaning, she was in favor of blocking its placement on the ballot. Like Francis, Sasso is also a member of the Federalist Society and concurred with the majority on the ruling that Florida’s 15-week ban should be upheld, thus allowing the six-week ban to later go into effect.

Sixth District Court of Appeals

The 6th District Court of Appeals, first established in 2022, is headquartered in Polk County, but covers 10 counties, including Orange and Osceola.

Florida Family Action, the legislative arm of the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ Florida Family Policy Council, has recommended voters retain all five appellate judges, so that’s telling. The Orange County Democratic Party recommends voting them out.

Judge Paetra Brownlee: Probably anti-abortion

There’s not much definitive information about Brownlee’s stance on abortion available, but Florida Family Action recommends that Florida residents vote to retain Brownlee. So we’re going to guess she’s on board with their values. She’s also a member of the conservative Federalist Society, a group dedicated to getting conservatives (like those that overturned Roe v. Wade) appointed to influential courts. Brownlee, a graduate of Emory University raised in Orlando, was appointed to her position on the Sixth District Court of Appeals in 2023 by DeSantis, who signed into law Florida’s six-week abortion ban last year. DeSantis has also more recently weaponized state resources to campaign against Florida’s Amendment 4.

Judge Roger Gannam: Anti-abortion

Gannam was appointed to his position on the District Court of Appeals by DeSantis last year (first red flag), but more telling of his views on abortion is his previous work for the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as “unshakably dedicated to protecting and defending human life, from the moment of conception until natural death.” In 2017, Gannam told the National Catholic Reporter that he was inspired to join the Christian legal movement after attending a training program hosted by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-abortion legal group that has helped states defend their abortion bans. Slate recently described them as “the most sinister advocacy group that people have never heard of.” In 2015, Gannam wrote a column whining about nondiscrimination laws for the LGBTQ+ population, arguing such protective policies cause “harm” and “discrimination against people of faith.” Take from that what you will.

Judge Joshua Mize: Possibly anti-abortion

Mize, a former member of the National Republican Lawyers Association, College Republicans, and a member of the Federalist Society since 2007, was first appointed by DeSants to the 9th Judicial Circuit Court in Orange and Osceola Counties in 2021. In late 2022, DeSantis appointed him to the 6th District Court of Appeals, along with Judge Jared Smith and Keith White. There’s not much public information available regarding his stance on abortion. In 2023, he applied for a vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court, but didn’t get the job. According to his application, Mize is a former member of the National Rifle Association and led the University of Florida’s Federalist Society chapter as chapter president while attending law school.

Judge Jared Smith: Anti-abortion

Jared Smith may be one of the more well-known names on this list, due to the extensive media coverage he received after denying a 17-year-old teenager in Florida an abortion because of her grades. Under Florida law, minors under 18 are required to obtain parental consent in order to get an abortion. If they can’t, or don’t have that, they can petition to go in front of a judge to plead their case. In this case, Smith saw this teenager’s grades, and determined that because she had a C-average, she wasn’t mature enough to make the decision to have an abortion. Apparently that does make her mature enough to go through with a pregnancy and have a child.

Granted, this questionable discretion isn’t isolated to Jared. Anyway, just about a month after voters booted him from office through the ballot box in 2022, DeSantis appointed Smith (and Mize) to the Sixth District Court of Appeals. This year, he’s on the ballot again, up for a retention vote this time.

Judge Keith White: Possibly anti-abortion

Judge Keith White was appointed to the 6th District Court of Appeals by DeSantis in 2022, officially joining the court in early January. White had previously served as a circuit judge on the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. He was appointed to that position by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2011. He also spent some time in the Maitland city government, serving in elected positions as a city councilman, then vice mayor. White is a member of the conservative Federalist Society and a former member of the Orange County Young Republicans. As mentioned above, Florida Family Action likes him and wants him to stay. But there is little definitive information publicly available as it concerns his stance on abortion rights.

Related


Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2024.

General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.