BREAKING: Pam Bondi Appoints New Solicitor General of Florida: Timothy Osterhaus

From the Florida attorney general's office:

"Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced the appointment of Timothy Osterhaus to serve as Floridas Solicitor General, the state governments top appellate lawyer. Osterhaus has served as Deputy Solicitor General for the Attorney Generals Office since 2007. In connection with his appointment, Osterhaus will be the Richard W. Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair and serve as a visiting professor of law at Florida State University College of Law."

The solicitor general's duties include determining whether and when the state appeals civil cases to the Florida Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, or United States Supreme Court. In cases in which the state is not a party, but which are of statewide importance because they affect the validity of state law or policy, the solicitor general determines whether the state files an amicus curiae brief for the case. Amicus briefs are purely informational; they are intended to persuade the court to rule a particular way in a case before it.