# Charles Canady

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{{Short description|American judge (born 1954)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Charles Canady
|image        = Florida-Supreme-Court-Justice-Charles-Canady-2019.jpg
|office       = Chief Justice of the [Florida Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Florida)
|term_start   = July 1, 2018
|term_end     = June 30, 2022
|predecessor  = [Jorge Labarga](/source/Jorge_Labarga)
|successor    = [Carlos G. Muñiz](/source/Carlos_G._Mu%C3%B1iz)
|term_start1  = July 1, 2010
|term_end1    = June 30, 2012
|predecessor1 = [Peggy Quince](/source/Peggy_Quince)
|successor1   = [Ricky Polston](/source/Ricky_Polston)
|office2      = Justice of the [Florida Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Florida)
|appointer2   = [Charlie Crist](/source/Charlie_Crist)
|term_start2  = September 6, 2008
|term_end2    = December 31, 2025
|predecessor2 = [Raoul G. Cantero III](/source/Raoul_G._Cantero_III)
|successor2   = [Adam Tanenbaum](/source/Adam_Tanenbaum)
|office3      = Judge of the [Florida Second District Court of Appeal](/source/Florida_Second_District_Court_of_Appeal)
|appointer3   = [Jeb Bush](/source/Jeb_Bush)
|term_start3  = November 20, 2002
|term_end3    = September 6, 2008
|predecessor3 = Oliver Green
|successor3   = Marva Crenshaw
|state4       = [Florida](/source/Florida)
|district4    = {{ushr|FL|12|12th}}
|term_start4  = January 3, 1993
|term_end4    = January 3, 2001
|predecessor4 = [Andy Ireland](/source/Andy_Ireland) (redistricted)
|successor4   = [Adam Putnam](/source/Adam_Putnam)
|state_house5 = Florida
|district5    = 44th
|term_start5  = November 6, 1984
|term_end5    = November 6, 1990
|predecessor5 = [Gene Ready](/source/Gene_Ready)
|successor5   = Joe Viscusi
|birth_name   = Charles Terrance Canady
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1954|6|22}}
|birth_place  = [Lakeland, Florida](/source/Lakeland%2C_Florida), U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|party        = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) (before 1989)<br>[Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) (1989–present)
|spouse       = [Jennifer Canady](/source/Jennifer_Canady)
|education    = [Haverford College](/source/Haverford_College) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))<br>[Yale University](/source/Yale_University) ([JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))
}}
'''Charles Terrance Canady''' (born June 22, 1954) is an American attorney and judge who served as a [justice](/source/List_of_justices_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_Florida) of the [Supreme Court of Florida](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Florida) from 2008 to 2025. He previously served as Chief Justice from 2010 to 2012 and from 2018 to 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/justices/old_justices_stuff/Former/chiefjustices.pdf | title = Chronology of the Chief Justices of Florida | publisher = The Office of Public Information, State of Florida | date = June 30, 2012 | access-date = November 15, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101025091702/http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/justices/old_justices_stuff/Former/chiefjustices.pdf | archive-date = October 25, 2010 }}</ref>

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Canady was a judge on Florida's [Second District Court of Appeal](/source/Florida_Second_District_Court_of_Appeal) from 2002 to 2008, and a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) member of the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from 1993 to 2001.

== Early life and career ==
Born in [Lakeland, Florida](/source/Lakeland%2C_Florida), Canady graduated with a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) from [Haverford College](/source/Haverford_College) in 1976 and a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) from [Yale Law School](/source/Yale_Law_School) in 1979. He was admitted to the bar the same year and began his practice in Lakeland. In 1983, he was hired as the legal counsel for the Central Florida Regional Planning Commission. From 1984 to 1990, Canady served as a member of the [Florida House of Representatives](/source/Florida_House_of_Representatives), initially elected as a conservative [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)), he switched parties in June 1989. The change created many hard feelings as it happened after he accepted Democratic money for his re-election campaign.  He ran for the [Florida State Senate](/source/Florida_State_Senate) in 1990, but was unsuccessful.

== U.S. House of Representatives ==
In 1992, Canady made a successful bid for the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives), narrowly defeating his Democratic opponent Tom Mims.  In Congress, Canady was credited for coining the term "partial-birth abortion" while developing the [Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995](/source/Partial-Birth_Abortion_Ban_Act_of_1995).<!--
 --><ref>Gordon, Alex. [http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jol/vol41_2/gordon.php "The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003"]. ''Harvard Journal on Legislation''.  Volume 41, Number 2, Summer 2004.  (see footnote 15)</ref><!--
 --><ref>H.R.1833. [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:HR01833: To amend title 18, United States Code, to ban partial-birth abortions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112030956/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:HR01833: |date=November 12, 2008 }}.</ref>  According to Keri Folmar, the lawyer responsible for the bill's language, the term was developed in early 1995 in a meeting among herself, Canady and [National Right to Life Committee](/source/National_Right_to_Life_Committee) lobbyist Douglas Johnson.<!--
 --><ref name="harpers">Gorney, Cynthia.  [http://www.harpers.org/GamblingWithAbortion.html  Gambling With Abortion].  ''Harper's'' Magazine, November 2004.</ref>  Canady could not find this particular abortion practice named in any medical textbook and therefore he and his aides named it.<ref>Simon, Adam.  [http://mpsa.indiana.edu/conf2003papers/1032123442.pdf  "Elite Discourse, Programming and Survey Response in the Partial Birth Abortion Debate"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614123429/http://mpsa.indiana.edu/conf2003papers/1032123442.pdf |date=June 14, 2007 }}  (March 2003).</ref>  Canady served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee between January 1995 and January 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Judge Charles Canady|url=https://2dca.flcourts.gov/Judges/Former-Judges/Judge-Charles-Canady/|website=Florida Second District Court of Appeal}}</ref> During this tenure, Canady led an inquiry on the question of assisted suicide in the United States. The report published was later cited in the Supreme Court decision, ''Washington v. Glucksberg'', which ruled that the Constitution did not protect a right to assisted suicide.<ref>{{cite report |author=Charles T. Canady|date= 1996|title=Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in the Netherlands
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Blv075VEyqgC |publisher=Subcommittee on the Constitution, United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite court|litigants=Washington v. Glucksberg|vol=521|reporter=U.S.|opinion=702|date=1997}}</ref> Canady was one of the [House managers](/source/House_managers) appointed to prosecute the [impeachment trial proceedings](/source/Impeachment_trial_of_Bill_Clinton) of [President](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton).<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ |website=history.house.gov |publisher=United States House of Representatives Office of the Historian, Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk |access-date=16 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref> He did not seek re-election to a fifth term in 2000, keeping a term limits pledge he made in 1992.

== Judicial service ==
After leaving Congress, Canady served as general counsel for [Florida Governor](/source/List_of_Governors_of_Florida) [Jeb Bush](/source/Jeb_Bush) before he was appointed a judge on the [Second Florida District Court of Appeal](/source/Florida_Second_District_Court_of_Appeal) in 2002, taking seat in November of that year.  On August 27, 2008, Governor [Charlie Crist](/source/Charlie_Crist) appointed Canady to the [Supreme Court of Florida](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Florida) to replace Justice [Raoul Cantero](/source/Raoul_Cantero), who was returning to private practice.  He became the 82nd justice of the Florida Supreme Court on September 6, 2008.<ref>[http://www.theledger.com/article/20080907/NEWS/809070309/-1/NEWS2801&title=Justice_Charles_Canady__Starting_a_New_Career "Justice Charles Canady: Starting a New Career"] ''The Ledger'', September 7, 2008.</ref>

In 2013, Governor [Rick Scott](/source/Rick_Scott) signed the ''Timely Justice Act'' (HB 7101)<ref>{{cite web|title = HB 7101 |url = https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/7101/BillText/er/PDF|publisher = [Florida State Senate](/source/Florida_State_Senate)|website = Flsenate.gov|access-date = March 15, 2016}}</ref> which overhauled the processes for [capital punishment](/source/Capital_punishment_in_Florida);<ref>{{cite news|title = Gov. Rick Scott signs bill to speed up executions in Florida|first = Mary Ellen|last = Klas|newspaper = [Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)|access-date = October 15, 2016|url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/article1952487.html|date = June 14, 2016}}</ref> the [United States Supreme Court](/source/United_States_Supreme_Court) struck down part of this law in January 2016 in ''[Hurst v. Florida](/source/Hurst_v._Florida)'',<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/us/politics/supreme-court-death-penalty-hurst-v-florida.html|first = Adam|last = Liptak|title = Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Florida Death Penalty|newspaper = [The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date = January 12, 2016|access-date = February 3, 2016}}</ref><ref name="appeal">{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/us/supreme-court-ruling-has-florida-scrambling-to-fix-death-penalty-law.html|first = Lizette|last = Alvarez|title = Supreme Court Ruling Has Florida Scrambling to Fix Death Penalty Law|newspaper = [The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date = February 2, 2016|access-date = February 3, 2016}}</ref> leading the [Florida legislature](/source/Florida_legislature) to pass a new statute.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/03/07/florida-death-penalty-officially-revamped-after-supreme-court-struck-it-down/|title = Florida death penalty officially revamped after Supreme Court struck it down|last = Berman|first = Mark|date = March 7, 2016|newspaper =[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)|access-date = August 3, 2016}}</ref>  The new sentencing scheme came before the Florida Supreme Court in October 2016, which held that a death sentence must be issued by a unanimous jury.<ref>{{cite news|title = Court again tosses state death penalty; ruling raises bar on capital punishment|first1 = Mary Ellen|last1 = Klas |first2 = David|last2 = Ovalle|date = October 14, 2016|url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article108231392.html|newspaper = [Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)|access-date = October 15, 2016}}</ref>  Canady was one of two justices to dissent from this opinion, with coverage noting his inclusion amongst [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump)'s list of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees<ref>{{cite news|title = Florida's Death Penalty Law Is Ruled Unconstitutional &ndash; Again|date = October 25, 2016|first = Cristian|last = Farias|newspaper = [Huffington Post](/source/Huffington_Post)|url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/florida-death-penalty_us_5801066de4b06e04759473b3|access-date = October 15, 2016}}</ref> which was released less than a month earlier.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-will-expand-list-of-possible-supreme-court-picks/ar-BBwxm7M?li=BBnb7Kz|title = Donald Trump will expand list of possible Supreme Court picks|last = Flores|first = Reena|date = September 23, 2016|work = CBS News|access-date = September 23, 2016|via = MSN}}</ref>

==See also==
* [List of American politicians who switched parties in office](/source/List_of_American_politicians_who_switched_parties_in_office)
* [Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates](/source/Donald_Trump_Supreme_Court_candidates)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Charles Canady}}
* {{CongLinks | congbio=C000107 | votesmart=26811 | fec=H2FL00045 | congress=charles-canady/C000107 }}
* {{C-SPAN|26488}}

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{{Impeachment and impeachment trial of Bill Clinton}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Canady, Charles}}
Category:1954 births
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:20th-century members of the Florida Legislature
Category:20th-century United States representatives
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American judges
Category:Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Florida
Category:Florida Democrats
Category:Florida lawyers
Category:Judges of the Florida District Courts of Appeal
Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of Florida
Category:Haverford College alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Members of the Florida House of Representatives
Category:People from Lakeland, Florida
Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Florida
Category:Yale Law School alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charles Canady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Canady) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Canady?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.