T. Kent Wetherell II

This article is about the Florida judge T. Kent Wetherell II. For the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, see T. K. Wetherell.

T. Kent Wetherell II
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office July 12, 2019
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	John Richard Smoak Jr.
Judge of the Florida First District Court of Appeal
In office October 1, 2009 – July 12, 2019
Appointed by	Charlie Crist
Succeeded by	Adam Tanenbaum
Personal details
Born	Thomas Kent Wetherell II (1970-08-26) August 26, 1970 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Parent	T. K. Wetherell (father) Virginia Bass Wetherell (stepmother)
Education	Florida State University (BS, JD)

Thomas Kent Wetherell II (born August 26, 1970) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida and former Florida state court judge.

Early life and education

Wetherell was born on August 26, 1970, in Daytona Beach, Florida. He earned his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from Florida State University and his Juris Doctor, with high honors, from the Florida State University College of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as an articles editor of the Florida State University Law Review.

Legal career

Wetherell spent four years in private practice at the Tallahassee firm Hopping Green Sams & Smith, where his practice focused on representing landowners and developers on land use matters before local governments and state agencies and representing corporate clients in administrative rule challenge and bid protest hearings. Before becoming a judge, he served for two years in the Office of the Florida Attorney General as Deputy Solicitor General.

State judicial service

Wetherell served for seven years as an Administrative Law Judge of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, where he heard a wide variety of cases, involving rule challenges, bid protests, hospital certificates of need, environmental permit challenges, employment discrimination claims, and professional license disputes.

He was appointed a Judge of the Florida First District Court of Appeal by Governor Charlie Crist and took office on October 1, 2009. His service on the state court terminated when he was appointed a federal district judge.

Federal judicial service

On April 26, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Wetherell to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. On May 7, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge John Richard Smoak Jr., who assumed senior status on December 31, 2015. On October 17, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Wetherell for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 18–4 vote. On July 9, 2019, the Senate voted 82–16 to invoke cloture on his nomination. On July 10, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 78–15. He received his judicial commission on July 12, 2019.

External links

• T. Kent Wetherell II at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• T. Kent Wetherell at Ballotpedia
• Official Biography on Florida First District Court of Appeal website