Carlos G. Muñiz re-elected as chief justice of Florida Supreme Court

Carlos G. Muñiz re-elected as chief justice of Florida Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court has unanimously re-elected Carlos G. Muñiz for a second two-year term as chief justice.

His new term begins July 1. Muñiz is Florida’s 57th chief justice since statehood.

The seven members of the Florida Supreme Court elect a chief justice to serve a two-year term in even-numbered years. Court rules call for selection “based on managerial, administrative, and leadership abilities, without regard to seniority only.” Muñiz’s two most recent predecessors as chief justice, Charles T. Canady and Jorge Labarga, also served consecutive terms.

Florida’s chief justice serves as the administrative officer of the judicial branch and of the Supreme Court. Authority and powers of the chief justice include the responsibility to serve as the primary spokesperson for the judicial branch about policies of statewide import, including the management, operation, legislative agenda, and budget priorities of the state’s courts.

Muñiz was appointed to the court on January 22, 2019, by Gov. Ron DeSantis, becoming the 89th justice since statehood was granted in 1845.

Prior to joining the court, he served on the staff of Secretary Betsy DeVos as the presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed general counsel of the United States Department of Education. In addition to working as an attorney in the federal government and in private practice, Justice Muñiz had an extensive career in Florida state government. He served as the deputy attorney general and chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi; as deputy chief of staff and counsel in the Office of the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives; as general counsel of the Department of Financial Services; and as deputy general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Muñiz has also worked in private practice for the top Washington, D.C. firm, Hogan & Hartson, as well as Gray Robinson, P.A., and McGuire Woods.

Chief Justice Muñiz is a graduate of the University of Virginia and of Yale Law School. After law school, he clerked for Judge José A. Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Judge Thomas A. Flannery of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Justice Muñiz lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Katie Muñiz, and their three children. He grew up in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where he attended St. James Catholic School and Bishop Ireton High School.