Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed two new justices to the Florida Supreme court. The governor made his announcement yesterday from Miami appointing Judge Renatha Francis and attorney John Couriel to the Florida Supreme Court. The Governor says Francis was born in Jamaica and is the first American from the Caribbean to be appointed to Florida’s Supreme Court. Francis said she was raised by a single mother in Jamaica who never finished high school and who was the daughter of a farmer.

My appointment of Judge Renatha Francis to the Florida Supreme Court is historic – a naturalized citizen, Francis will be the first Jamaican-American to serve on the court.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 26, 2020

Despite her obstacles in life, Francis said her mother taught her and her sister “grit, determination and hard work.” Initially when, Judge Francis was nominated she had not been a member of the Florida bar for 10 years. She passed that milestone in September. Francis is currently a judge for the Florida 15th Circuit Court in Palm Beach County. Couriel, meanwhile, is currently an attorney at a law firm in Miami. The governor has appointed five people to Florida’s Supreme Court since taking office, four of whom are from South Florida.