Photo by Linda Long
The state Supreme Court unanimously elected John Couriel as Florida’s 58th chief justice. His two-year term begins July 1. He will succeed Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, who will remain on the court after completing his second term as chief justice on June 30.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for their trust and am indebted to the previous chief justices with whom I’ve served. I will do my best to serve the people of Florida as they so ably have,” Couriel said in an April 16 news release from the court.
Couriel, 48, was appointed to the court in 2020 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Before he joined the court, Couriel was a partner at global law firm Kobre & Kim, where he litigated cross-border matters. As an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, he prosecuted international money laundering, public integrity crimes, health care fraud and human trafficking offenses. He began his career as a law clerk for Judge John Bates at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The child of Cuban immigrants, Couriel was born in Miami. He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his law degree from Harvard Law School.
Florida’s chief justice is the administrative officer of the judicial branch and of the Supreme Court. Authority and powers of the chief justice include the responsibility to serve as the primary spokesperson for the judicial branch about policies of statewide import, including the management, operation, legislative agenda and budget priorities of the state’s courts.