On March 31, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of 21 members to Florida’s Judicial Nominating Commissions. One of the appointees is Spring Hill’s own Matthew A. Foreman, Esquire.
Foreman is truly a hometown representative, having grown up in the county and attending Springstead High School. From there, he attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida and graduated from Stetson’s College of Law in 2008.
Following his matriculation from the Florida-based college, Foreman worked for a local law firm for approximately five years before joining his current firm, Carter Foreman, as a partner. The lawyer also served on Hernando County’s School Board for about five of those years as well during Bryan Blavatt and Lori Romano’s stints as superintendent.
Foreman’s appointment is, in fact, a reappointment, as he had previously been appointed to this role in July of 2019. His term is set to end on July 1, 2027.
Excluding the most recent appointments and himself, every other appointee up until “a couple months ago” has been from Marion or Lake Counties, Foreman noted. When there is a vacancy due to retirement or other means, those in his role are responsible for interviewing candidates and submitting potential additions to each vacancy.
“Every judicial circuit has their judicial nominating commission,” Foreman explained. “Ours is composed of nine people. Our judicial circuit has five counties. So, currently there are four from Marion, three from Lake, me from Hernando, and one person from Citrus, I believe.”
His reappointment resulted from applying through the governor’s office. The Florida Bar has a say in some of these decisions while others may be direct appointments from the governor himself. Five members are appointed directly by the governor and the Bar sends nominations to the governor to fill the four remaining positions, Foreman added.
For the local lawyer, the most satisfying part of serving in the role is ensuring that the governor “has the opportunity to appoint highly qualified candidates, so the folks in our judicial circuit have judges who are qualified. I think that is really important. The best part of the job is probably getting to talk to all the people […] it gives you an opportunity to interact with a lot of the best and brightest of the legal community in the fifth circuit and elsewhere.”
Other past members of the Judicial Nomination Commission from Hernando County include Judge Don Barbee, George Angeliadis, and Darryl W. Johnston. The 20 other appointees named to judicial nominating commissions are listed below:
Joseph Hart – Tallahassee – First District Court of Appeal
Joshua Webb – Tampa – Second District Court of Appeal
John Byrne – Coral Gables – Third District Court of Appeal
Larry Keefe – Shalimar – First Judicial Circuit
David Arthmann – Tallahassee – Second Judicial Circuit
Dana Taylor – Live Oak – Third Judicial Circuit
George Reeves – Madison – Third Judicial Circuit
James Willingham Jr. – Jasper – Third Judicial Circuit
Robert Harris – Jacksonville – Fourth Judicial Circuit
Terrence White – Ormond Beach – Seventh Judicial Circuit
Stephanie Emrick – Williston – Eighth Judicial Circuit
Rebecca Shinholser – Gainesville – Eighth Judicial Circuit
Robert Woody – Gainesville – Eighth Judicial Circuit
Brian Kramer – Gainesville – Eighth Judicial Circuit
Samuel Salario -Tampa – Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
Brandon Burg – Panama City – Fourteenth Judicial Circuit
Katie Jay – Stuart – Nineteenth Judicial Circuit
Steven E. Martin – Fort Myers – Twentieth Judicial Circuit
