Crist chooses Canady for Supreme Court

Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday appointed appeals court judge Charles Canady to replace Raoul Cantero on the Florida Supreme Court.

Canady, 54, of Lakeland, was a Republican member of Congress for four terms before leaving elective politics to keep a term-limits pledge. He was on the team of Congressional prosecutors that impeached President Bill Clinton. He was former Gov. Jeb Bush's general counsel and a Bush appointee to the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland.

Crist called the appointment of Canady the most important thing he could do. Crist called Canady "brilliant" and "compassionate."The governor also will make three more Supreme Court appointments over the next six months.

Canady said he planned to move his family, he has a wife and two daughters, to Tallahassee immediately and start preparing for cases in September. He said he has no plans to leave the bench before he hits the mandatory retirement age. Justices Raoul Cantero and Ken Bell also have young children and are leaving the bench due to their young families.

--Jennifer Liberto, Times Staff Writer