Scott Appoints Solicitor General Makar to 1st District Court of Appeal

Scott D. Makar, Floridas solicitor general, has been named by Gov. Rick Scott to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of 1st District Court of Appeal Judge Paul Hawkes.

Scotts extensive knowledge of the law and experience in appellate courts is widely known and respected, Gov. Scott stated in a release. I am confident he will consider every case presented to the appellate court in a thorough and fair manner.

Hawkes stepped down Jan. 4, just a few weeks before he was scheduled to face an ethics trial before the Judicial Qualification Commission for allegedly destroying public records tied with construction of the courts $50 million courthouse that has been derisively called a Taj Mahal.

According to a release from the governors office:

Makar, 52, has served as Floridas solicitor general in the office of the attorney general since 2007.

"Since becoming solicitor general, he has argued five cases in the United States Supreme Court, as well as cases in United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, the 1st District Court of Appeal, and the 2nd and 13th judicial circuits.

"Prior to his appointment as solicitor general, Makar was chief of the appellate division and assistant general counsel for the city of Jacksonville from 2001 to 2007. Previously, he was an associate and a capital partner in Holland and Knight LLP from 1989 to 2001.

"He was a judicial clerk for Judge Thomas A. Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, Ga.Makar received a bachelors degree from Mercer University, as well as two masters degrees, a law degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Florida."