Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Canady will leave the state’s highest court in 2026 to lead the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.
Canady announced this week that he will step down from the bench to serve as director and a tenured professor at the Hamilton School, a UF program created in 2022 to focus on classical and civic education.
In a statement released by the court, he said he will begin the new role in 2026 and noted that he will “always deeply value” his years on the court.
“It has been my great privilege to serve the people of Florida as a justice of the Supreme Court for the last 17 years,” Justice Canady said. “I will always deeply value my years on the Court. But the time has come to move on to another position of public service. I am looking forward to beginning 2026 as the Director and a tenured professor at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida.”
Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008 by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, Canady is currently the court’s longest-serving member. He has served three terms as chief justice, from 2010 to 2012, again in 2018, and most recently from 2018 to 2022.
Before joining the high court, Canady served in the Florida House of Representatives, the U.S. House of Representatives and on the Second District Court of Appeal, as well as working as general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush.
