Scott Makar, a Jacksonville resident who serves on Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal, will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election ballot for a nonpartisan merit-retention vote.

In a retention election, voters answer yes or no on whether to keep an appellate judge in office. There is no opposing candidate. Makar is certified for the ballot.

Candidate information

  • Full name: Scott Douglas Makar
  • Born: Oct. 15, 1959, in Mahopac, New York
  • Residence: Jacksonville, Florida
  • Education: High school diploma, Manatee High School (1977); bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics, Mercer University (1980); master of business administration, University of Florida (1982); master's degree in economics, University of Florida (1982); juris doctor, University of Florida (1987); doctorate in economics, University of Florida (1993)
  • Florida Bar admission: Oct. 9, 1987

Experience and public service

Makar began his legal career as an intern at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in 1985, according to his biographical sketch on the attorney general's website. He clerked for Judge Thomas A. Clark on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

He worked as a capital partner at Holland & Knight from 1989 to 2001. He then served as chief of the appellate division in the Jacksonville Office of General Counsel from 2001 to 2007.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum appointed Makar as Florida solicitor general on Feb. 13, 2007. Attorney General Pam Bondi retained him in that role after McCollum left office. As solicitor general, Makar personally argued four U.S. Supreme Court cases during the 2009–2010 term and one case during the 2007–2008 term.

Makar held the Richard W. Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair at the Florida State University College of Law while serving as solicitor general. He has taught law courses at the University of Florida, Florida Coastal School of Law, the University of North Florida and Jacksonville University.

During law school, Makar founded and served as editor-in-chief of the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, according to his biographical sketch. The University of Florida Law Review published his note and awarded it the Gertrude Brick Award.

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Makar to the Florida First District Court of Appeal on Feb. 6, 2012, replacing Judge Paul Hawkes. First District voters retained him in 2014 with 63.8 percent of the vote and again on Nov. 3, 2020, with 66.3 percent, according to Voting for Justice. In the Florida Bar's 2014 poll of its members regarding appellate judges up for retention, 82 percent of respondents recommended Makar for retention, according to Voting for Justice.

Makar moved to the Fifth District Court of Appeal in 2023. He serves as chair emeritus of the Florida Supreme Court's Standard Jury Instructions Committee for civil cases and is a founding member of the Florida Bar's Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, where he served on its first executive council.