Governor Rick Scott today announced the appointment of Scott D. Makar, of Jacksonville, to the First District Court of Appeal.
Makar will replace Paul Hawkes who resigned in the face of a judicial inquiry into how the court got the funding to build its new courthouse.
Makar, 52, has served as Florida’s Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General since 2007. Since becoming Solicitor General, he has argued five cases in the United States Supreme Court, as well as cases in United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, the First District Court of Appeal, and the Second and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits.
Prior to his appointment as Solicitor General, Makar was chief of the appellate division and assistant general counsel for the City of Jacksonville from 2001 to 2007. Previously, he was an associate and a capital partner in Holland and Knight L.L.P. from 1989 to 2001. He was a judicial clerk for Judge Thomas A. Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia. Makar received a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University, as well as two master’s degrees, a law degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Florida.
“Scott’s extensive knowledge of the law and experience in appellate courts is widely known and respected,” Governor Scott said. “I am confident he will consider every case presented to the appellate court in a thorough and fair manner.”
