Gov. Scott names two new judges for Tampa Bay area

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Gov. Rick Scott announced two judicial appointments in the Tampa Bay area late Friday.

He elevated Kim Hernandez Vance from a Hillsborough County judge to the 13th Judicial Circuit bench. Vance, 54, of Tampa, had been a county judge since last year.

“Judge Vance has demonstrated, throughout her career, a commitment to serving Florida families,” Scott said in a statement. “I am confident she will be a valuable addition to the circuit bench.”

Vance, who previously was with the Gray Robinson firm, fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Bernard Charles Silver.

Scott also appointed Assistant Attorney General Daryl Manning to the Hillsborough County Court.

Manning, 49, also of Tampa, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and has served as an Army Judge Advocate. He currently works for Attorney General Pam Bondi in the AG’s Tampa office.

“Daryl has honorably served Florida as a member of the U.S. Military and as an Assistant Attorney General,” Scott said. “I am confident he will do a great job on the County Court.”

Manning fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Christopher Nash to the circuit court.

Before joining Florida Politics, journalist and attorney James Rosica was state government reporter for The Tampa Tribune. He attended journalism school in Washington, D.C., working at dailies and weekly papers in Philadelphia after graduation. Rosica joined the Tallahassee Democrat in 1997, later moving to the courts beat, where he reported on the 2000 presidential recount. In 2005, Rosica left journalism to attend law school in Philadelphia, afterwards working part time for a public-interest law firm. Returning to writing, he covered three legislative sessions in Tallahassee for The Associated Press, before joining the Tribune’s re-opened Tallahassee bureau in 2013. He can be reached at [email protected].