Miami-Dade voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to retain Judge Kansas R. Gooden on Florida's Third District Court of Appeal. The nonpartisan merit-retention question asks voters a simple yes or no: should Gooden keep her seat?

Gooden was appointed to the Third DCA by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 28, 2024, replacing Judge Eric Hendon, according to her Federalist Society biography. She assumed office July 1, 2024. The Third DCA's jurisdiction covers Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, according to a St. Thomas University profile.

No opposing candidate appears on the ballot. In a merit-retention election, voters simply mark "yes" to retain the judge or "no" to remove them.

Candidate information

Full name: Kansas R. Gooden

Office sought: Florida Third District Court of Appeal (Retain Gooden?)

Election date: Nov. 3, 2026

Party: Nonpartisan

Education: Bachelor of business administration in finance, James Madison University; juris doctor magna cum laude, St. Thomas University School of Law, 2008

Certifications: Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice; rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, according to the Third DCA's official biography

Recognition: Consistently recognized for appellate practice by Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Trend and U.S. News' Best Lawyers in America, according to the Third DCA's official biography

Experience and public service

Before her appointment, Gooden spent 16 years in private practice as an equity shareholder at Boyd & Jenerette, P.A., where she chaired the firm's appellate department and served as general counsel, according to her Federalist Society biography. She handled more than 400 civil appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings before all of Florida's district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Gooden is the first St. Thomas University graduate appointed to the Third DCA, according to the university. She earned her juris doctor magna cum laude, served as an articles editor on the St. Thomas Law Review and interned at the Third DCA with Judge David Gersten, according to her Federalist Society biography.

She chaired the Florida Bar's Appellate Practice Section, its Appellate Board Certification Committee and its Board of Legal Specialization and Education. She also served as president of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association.

Gooden served as commissioner and vice chair on Florida's Eleventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and as a commissioner on U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's Judicial Advisory Commission for the Southern District of Florida. She is a member of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.

Florida's Guardian ad Litem Program awarded her the Children's Champion Award in 2019 for appellate pro bono work. She also received the Florida Defense Lawyers Association's Amicus Award, James A. Dixon Young Lawyer Award, Joseph P. Metzger Outstanding Achievement Award and President's Award.

Before law school, Gooden was a member of the two-time CAA Conference Champion women's golf team at James Madison University and was named to the All-Conference Team. Born in McGaheysville, Virginia, she was named after the 1970s rock band Kansas, according to St. Thomas University.