Scott names state solicitor general to replace 'Taj Mahal' judge

Scott Makar, who has been Florida's lawyer arguing cases before the state and U.S. Supreme Courts for the last few years will join the First District Court of Appeal, Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday.

Makar, 52, will replace Paul Hawkes, who resigned in the face of a judicial inquiry into how the court got the funding to build its new courthouse.

Makar has been Florida's solicitor general since 2007. In that role he has argued five cases in the United States Supreme Court as well as several cases in the Florida Supreme Court, and federal and state appeals courts, including the First DCA he is getting ready to join. Makar has also worked as a lawyer for the city of Jacksonville and in the private sector at Holland & Knight. He clerked for Judge Thomas A. Clark at the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He has a law degree from the University of Florida.