Four legal professionals will be able to celebrate either promotions to higher judgeships or, in two cases, becoming a judge for a first time, as Gov. Ron DeSantis announced appointments on Friday.
Johnathan Lott, of Fort Lauderdale, will serve as Judge on the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
Lott has been a Circuit Court Judge for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court since 2024. He has also been an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Green Cove Springs’ Kristina Mobley will move from her position as a County Court Judge for Clay County to a Judge for the entire 4th Circuit, where she was a Judicial Staff Attorney prior to becoming a judge. Legislation passed this year expanded judgeships throughout the state, allowing Mobley to move up.
Jarred Patterson will move from being the Chief Assistant State Attorney for Gulf County to become a Judge in the 14th Circuit, another beneficiary of the legislation expanding the judiciary. He also has been the Chief Assistant State Attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit.
Pascale Achille will move from being an Assistant State Attorney in the 17th Circuit to a judgeship, meanwhile, but not through legislation. She will replace Judge Gary Farmer, who resigned his position amid questions over his unorthodox comportment on the bench.
