TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ Gov. Charlie Crist has named Circuit Judge Kevin Emas to the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami.
Crist twice passed on Emas for openings on the Florida Supreme Court before elevating him to the appeal court Wednesday.
The Miami judge was among five nominees for a high court vacancy in 2008. Crist instead named now-Chief Justice Charles Canady, a former Republican congressman who served as Jeb Bush's top lawyer when he was governor.
Last year, Emas was one of six nominees for another opening, but Crist named Jorge Labarga, a former circuit judge in Palm Beach County.
Crist, who said he wanted to diversify the high court, named the Cuban-born Labarga just a month after appointing him to an appellate judgeship.
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