TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed lawyer Roger Gannam to serve as Judge on the Sixth District Court of Appeal. Gannam has most recently served as Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs for Liberty Counsel.
Liberty Counsel is a Christian, conservative organization that has successfully litigated religious liberty cases, most notably last year in a 2022 Supreme Court case which saw the City of Boston pay out over $2 million after the city refused to fly the Christian Flag on city grounds.
Gannam’s name was on the legal brief as Liberty Counsel argued before the Supreme Court in the Shurtleff v. City of Boston case. He has also previously written op-eds saying enforcing equal protections for LGBT people is “discrimination against people of faith.”
Liberty Counsel applauded the appointment by DeSantis.
“Governor Ron DeSantis has made an excellent choice in appointing Roger Gannam to serve on the Sixth District Court of Appeal,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “Since 2014, Roger has been a vital member of Liberty Counsel’s legal team. Roger is committed to the rule of law.”
The Democrat Party of Florida (FDP), led by Chair Nikki Fried, denounced the governor’s appointment.
“This is outrageous,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried. “After Ron threw out a democratically elected State Attorney this week, he has continued his crusade to consolidate the courts and stack the judicial bench with activist judges like Roger Gannam, who has a long history of attacking women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community.”
Roger Gannam is a far-right, evangelical, activist attorney. He belongs nowhere near a courtroom — in Florida or anywhere else. https://t.co/Z5Y36ErRAh
— Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) August 12, 2023
Similarly on Twitter, the FDP said Gannam should be “nowhere near a courtroom.”
“Roger Gannam is a far-right, evangelical, activist attorney,” the FDP posted on Twitter. “He belongs nowhere near a courtroom — in Florida or anywhere else.”
