The list of attorneys being considered for two Alachua County Judge vacancies has been whittled down to 15. The 8th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission sent out letters Wednesday notifying half of the 30 applicants that they will be interviewed for the jobs, commission chairman Brian S. Kramer said.

The list of attorneys being considered for two Alachua County judicial vacancies has been whittled down to 15.
The 8th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission sent out letters Wednesday notifying half of the 30 applicants that they will be interviewed for the jobs, commission chairman Brian S. Kramer said. The interviews for County Judge, which are open to the public, are scheduled for March 22. Immediately after the interviews, commission members will meet in an executive session, which is closed to the public, to select six to 12 names to be forwarded to Gov. Charlie Crist for consideration.

There are two vacant positions on the bench because former County Judges Victor Hulslander and Mary Day Coker recently were appointed to the 8th Judicial Circuit Court bench.
Kramer said that while each applicant will be interviewed separately, they have been asked to arrive in groups of three or four. Each candidate will be allowed to make brief opening and closing remarks and will be interviewed by the commission about his or her qualifications.

The March 22 interview schedule is:
9 a.m.: Meshon Rawls, David Kreider, Bruce Smith, Tania Alavi
10:30 a.m.: Robin Arnold, Terry Kann, Dean Galigani, James Colaw
1 p.m.: Rob Groeb, Michael Becker, Kevin Robertson, Shawn Thompson
2:30 p.m.: Sam Stafford, Rich Chang, Susanne Bullard
Judicial applicant pool is narrowed