Miami native John D. Couriel elected chief justice of Florida Supreme Court

The newly elected chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court is a Miami native born to Cuban parents, the court said in a news release on Thursday.

John D. Couriel, 48, will become the 58th chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court on July 1, succeeding Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz.

The role is the highest of the judicial branch of government in Florida.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for their trust and am indebted to the previous chief justices with whom I’ve served. I will do my best to serve the people of Florida as they so ably have,” Couriel stated in the announcement.

Couriel was appointed to the court in 2020 by Governor Ron DeSantis. He is from Miami and attended Harvard College, where he earned his bachelor’s and law degrees.

Couriel’s parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1960s, the court said. His wife, Dr. Rebecca L. Toonkel, is the senior associate dean for academic affairs at Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. They have two children.

How is the chief justice elected?

The seven members of the Florida Supreme Court elect a chief justice to serve a two-year term beginning July 1 in even-numbered years.

“For many years procedural rules dictated a preference for the longest-serving justice on the court who had not been chief justice to be selected, a description Justice Couriel fits,” the news release reads. “The rules now call for selection ‘based on managerial, administrative, and leadership abilities, without regard to seniority only.'”

Current Chief Justice Muñiz will remain on the court after completing his second term as chief justice on June 30.

What does the chief justice do?

According to the Florida Supreme Court, the chief justice will be responsible to “serve as the primary spokesperson” for the judicial branch about policies including the management, operation, legislative agenda and budget priorities of the state’s courts.

The chief justice also:

• Presides at all proceedings of the Court. If the chief justice is absent from Court, the most senior justice present becomes acting chief justice.
• Assigns justices and judges, including retired justices and judges who consent and are approved by the Court to serve, to duty in courts which require temporary assistance.
• Supervises the compilation and presentation of the judicial budget to the Legislature.
• Presides or designates another justice to preside over impeachment proceedings in the Senate.