Joseph Lewis, Jr.

Joseph Lewis, Jr. is a judge on the Florida First District Court of Appeal.

History Lewis was born in Tallahassee in 1953. He attended the University of Montana, graduating in 1974, and the Florida State University College of Law in 1977. After graduation, he worked as a judicial research aide at the Florida Industrial Relations Commission from 1977 to 1978.

First District Court of Appeal In August 2000, the Judicial Nominating Commission for the First District Court of Appeal sought applicants to replace Judges James Joanos and Arthur Lawrence, whose terms expired in January 2001. Following Lawrence's retirement two months later, Lewis was sworn in to the seat, becoming the second African-American judge to serve on the court. However, Governor Bush ended up selecting Kenneth B. Bell for the seat instead.