Photo from Pratt's judicial application
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Christine Pratt to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, selecting a deputy solicitor general to fill the vacancy left by her husband, Judge Jordan Pratt.
The governor’s September 4, 2026, appointment letter confirms her selection. The letter also states that qualifying papers must be filed before she can assume the position.
Jordan Pratt left the state appellate bench for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. According to the Federal Judicial Center, President Donald Trump nominated him in June 2025; the Senate confirmed him on October 28, and he received his commission on November 3, 2025.
One nominee without prior judicial service
VolusiaExposed.Com attended and recorded the June 19, 2026, interviews conducted by the Fifth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. Nine applicants were interviewed, and the commission forwarded six nominees to the governor.
As outlined in her judicial application, Christine Pratt had no prior judicial experience. The other five nominees—Lauren Blocker, Eric Netcher, Jeb Branham, Chris Kelly and Therese Savona—were identified as sitting judges in VolusiaExposed.Com’s coverage of the nomination process.
That distinction gives the public a concrete point of comparison: the governor chose a government attorney over five candidates who already had experience on the bench.
Editorial perspective
The public deserves to understand the choice
Prior judicial service is a meaningful credential, but it is not the only measure of a candidate’s ability. Appellate advocacy, legal analysis, judgment and temperament also deserve consideration. Christine Pratt’s qualifications for judicial office can be fairly assessed by reviewing her professional record.
Even so, selecting the only nominee without prior judicial service to succeed her husband invites a reasonable question: what qualities made her the strongest choice among these six nominees?
The family relationship alone does not establish favoritism. It does make a clear explanation of the selection especially valuable. The appointment letter expresses the governor’s confidence in Pratt but does not compare her qualifications with those of the other nominees.
Floridians should be able to examine the applications, watch the interviews and understand how experience was weighed. Public confidence in judicial appointments is strengthened when the reasons for a consequential choice are as accessible as the announcement itself.
Compare the six nominees
The applications linked below provide the candidates’ accounts of their professional experience and qualifications.
Watch Christine Pratt’s interview
The commission interviewed Pratt on June 19, 2026. The recording below was published by VolusiaExposed.Com.
Watch the interview on YouTube · See the full interview coverage