The Judicial Nominating Commission for the 19th Circuit is accepting applicants to succeed Vero Beach Judge Janet Carney Croom when she retires in June.
The circuit covers Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties, but Croom is one of only three Vero Beach residents on the circuit bench, the others being Judge Cynthia Cox and Judge Robert Meadows. Robyn Stone and Nicole Menz are county judges, not circuit judges.
Judges Victoria Griffin and Rebecca White are both St. Lucie County residents.
Croom, 56, who was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in January 2015, said in February she was stepping down “to spend irreplaceable time with family.”
In her decade on the bench, Croom has presided over civil, family, probate, guardianship and juvenile delinquency cases. Croom earned both her undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Arkansas. She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1997 and is board certified in business litigation and construction law.
Croom’s longtime husband is custom homebuilder David Croom, 78, of Croom Construction, which has built many luxury homes in the barrier island’s most exclusive club communities in its 47-year history. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Croom represented one of her husband’s companies in a high-profile breach of contract lawsuit against the City of Vero Beach involving the city’s old diesel power plant. The Crooms live on Vero’s South Beach.
Just days after Croom announced her retirement, her son was arrested for armed robbery of $420 worth of marijuana from the Wild Side Smoke Shop near the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
“Major Leo Carney Croom, 19, of Vero Beach was arrested at his apartment near the robbery and spent the night in the Alachua County Jail. A judge provisionally ordered him held without bail,” the University of Florida public broadcasting station WUFT reported on Feb. 13, adding that Croom had been a freshman business major at UF but still listed his home address as Vero Beach.
Based upon the last two rounds of applicants, two or more Vero Beach lawyers could be contenders for the post. Local family law attorney and former Assistant State Attorney Jeff Batista has applied several times as judicial positions have opened up. Assistant State Attorney Bill Long, who supervises Indian River County criminal prosecution operations for State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, has also applied for s previous judicial post.
Stuart attorney Adam Schwartz of Atlas Solomon, chair of the 19th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission, distributed the vacancy notice last week to Florida Bar members and the media, stating a deadline of May 5, but urging applicants to submit enough application packets for each of the seven commission member as early as possible.
“After the deadline for submitting applications passes, the Commission will determine which applicants will be interviewed. The interviews are tentatively scheduled to take place on May 23, 2025,” Schwartz said.
