TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission on Monday began the process of replacing two outgoing justices, a process that will end with Gov. Ron DeSantis nominating appointees from a list of names the commission will compile.

1. What has prompted the process?

Nominated to the high court by DeSantis less than a year ago, Justices Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck were recently tapped by President Trump to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta. Their departures necessitate the selection of two new justices.

In a letter to JNC Chair Daniel Nordby on Monday, gubernatorial general counsel Joe Jacquot requested that the commission provide DeSantis with a list of candidates for nomination within 60 days.

2. Why did the JNC face criticism during the last round of Supreme Court appointments?

African American leaders and voting rights groups assailed the commission for failing to present DeSantis with a list of candidates that contained a black jurist to replace the Supreme Court's sole black justice at the time, Peggy Quince.

The court is now without an African American justice for the first time in decades, and critics have accused JNC members appointed by former Republican Gov. Rick Scott of putting their conservative brand of politics ahead of judicial diversity.

3. Is the JNC facing pressure to select African-American jurists now?

Yes. A coalition of black state legislators are calling on the JNC to take heed of the criticism heaped upon it earlier this year and present DeSantis with one or more African-American candidates.

Some say the governor, not the commission, should have the ultimate authority to decide whether a black justice ought to sit on Florida's highest court because, unlike commissioners who are political appointees, he is directly accountable to voters.

4. What has the governor said?

When asked about the absence of a black justice, DeSantis and his deputies have noted that the governor's appointments to the Supreme Court are limited by the list he receives from the JNC. Before his appointments to the bench earlier this year, some black leaders called on him to reject the JNC's list, because it didn't contain an African-American jurist, and to demand a new one.

DeSantis dismissed those calls and, after his appointments of Lagoa and Carlos Muniz, pointed to their Hispanic heritage as evidence that there is, indeed, diversity on the bench.

5. What happens next?

During a conference call Monday, JNC members decided to open a month-long application window that will close Christmas Day. The commission will then interview applicants and compile a list of candidates by Jan. 25.