Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Judge Meredith Sasso to the Florida Supreme Court on May 23 to succeed retired Justice Ricky Polston.
Sasso is the chief judge at the state’s 6th District Court of Appeal in Lakeland.
She is the fourth woman and, as a Cuban American, the fourth Hispanic justice DeSantis has appointed to the high court since taking office in 2019.
“As a Cuban-American woman who understands the importance of our constitutional system and the rule of law, Judge Sasso will serve our state well,” DeSantis said in a news release.
Sasso is the seventh woman to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. With this appointment, there will be three women sitting on the Florida Supreme Court simultaneously for the first time in Florida history.
“The judiciary plays a critical and unique role in our constitutional government, and I am resolutely committed to upholding the rule of law for as long as I am privileged to serve,” Sasso said in the release.
Sasso received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 2005 and her law degree from the University of Florida in 2008, where she was a member of the Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board.
She began her career in private practice, representing clients in large loss general liability, auto negligence and complex commercial claims in state and federal courts at trial and on appeal.
Before serving on the court, Sasso was chief deputy general counsel for former Gov. Rick Scott.
In January 2019, she was appointed to the 5th District Court of Appeal. Sasso was recommissioned to the 6th District Court of Appeal from the 5th District on Jan. 1, 2023, by DeSantis.
Sasso was raised in Tallahassee, and is married with two children. She currently serves as an appointed member of The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee. She is also a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network and the Federalist Society.