Escambia County Welcomes Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz (Left) and Escambia Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh discuss the Justice's judicial philosophy in Pensacola at the Artel Gallery, 11-9-2022

Wednesday evening Escambia County, the City of Pensacola, and the Federalist Society of the Emerald Coast welcomed the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Carlos Muniz, to our community.

The Justice arrived early at Escambia County's Artel Gallery and graciously met with dozens of citizens, primarily those involved in the legal profession in the Panhandle.

As the attendees milled around, enjoying sub sandwiches and beverages provided by the Federalist Society and visiting one another--the room began to get packed.

Ultimately, nearly one hundred attendees arrived and took their seats for the intimate, in-depth question and answer session with Muniz, the man who sits at the pinacle of the court system in the nation's 3rd largest state.

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muniz
visits Pensacola 11-9-2022

Former Supreme Court Justices, numerous Federal Magistrates, lawyers, and dozens of locally elected/appointed Circuit and County Court Judges and their staff members were present--as were other elected officials including Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons and two local County Commissioners.  A UWF Legal studies professor even brought his whole class to the event so they could hear from the Chief Justice firsthand.

To start the evening off--some interesting facts were put out about the Justice by the host and President of the Federalist Society of the Emerald Coast--Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh.  Many of the Justice's former jobs with both the Federal Government and the State of Florida were rattled off.  When discussing the Justice's educational background--the name Dave Grohl came up.  (Grohl is the former drummer for the alternative powerhouse band Nirvana and current guitarist and vocalist for the legendary rock band Foo-Fighters.)  Apparently, Grohl and Muniz attended the same Catholic prep school in northern Virginia and knew of each other.  "Yes, I knew of him while we were in school, he was a year behind me in my brother's class" Muniz mused upon being asked about the world famous musician.   

After High School, Muniz attended The University of Virginia for his Undergraduate degree, and Yale Law School for his JD. (Muniz made a passing comment about his concern for some apparent issues with free speech that have become newsworthy as of late at his law school alma matter.)

Then came the questions about his current role and his judicial philosophy.   Much of the discussion centered around a view the Justice has held about Judicial Imperialism--with discussion flowing from the Justice's 2005 paper on this topic submitted to the James Madison Institute.  Muniz elaborated on that topic, while also describing his current role as a College Professor at FSU's Law School where he is currently teaching a course on Textualism and its Rivals.  The Justice expressed thanks for the presence of the students from UWF.

As the evening wound down, several questions came from the audience, which Muniz fielded.  He also elaborated strongly, as a transplant to Florida from Virginia,  on his view of our State's Constitution--how it is really a "people's constitution" compared to many other states, due to the Florida Constitution's accessibility and ease of revision/augmentation by citizen petition.

The Justice thanked the attendees profuesely for coming out, expressing gratitude for the significant turnout.

After the event, the Justice had a more intimate discussion with several attendees over at McGuires Irish Pub, before he headed back to Tallahassee.

An interesting evening and conversation, to be sure.

Read more about Chief Justice Muniz, here.

Read more about the Federalist Society, here.