Justice John D. Couriel

Justice John D. Couriel

Justice John D. Couriel

John D. Couriel is the 90th Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Justice Couriel was born in Miami, Florida in 1978.  He is married to Rebecca L. Toonkel, M.D.  They have two children.

Justice Couriel received his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2000 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2003.  He clerked for the Honorable John D. Bates of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia before joining Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York.  His practice there included securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy matters, and investigations.  In 2009, he became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  He prosecuted hundreds of federal offenses, including international money laundering, public integrity, healthcare fraud, and human trafficking crimes.  In 2013, he joined Kobre & Kim LLP, where he specialized in cross-border disputes and investigations relating to financial products and services, asset recovery, and government enforcement defense, with an emphasis on clients in Latin America.

Justice Couriel is a native speaker of Spanish.  His parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1960s, his father as one of approximately 14,000 unaccompanied minors welcomed to the United States as part of Operation Pedro Pan.

He was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 1, 2020.

Watch the Investiture

Office Information

Justice Couriel’s phone number is (850) 922-5624, and his judicial assistant is Shannon Hudson. His staff attorneys are Christina Dines, David Walsh, and Dalia Elmelige. The mailing address is 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee FL 32399-1925. All inquiries about this page:  publicinformation@flcourts.org

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: The Code of Judicial Conduct governing behavior by judges forbids the Justices of the Florida Supreme Court to discuss pending cases with the public.  Please do not call the Court expecting to speak with a Justice about any case.  If you have a comment to make, please mail it to the Clerk's Office at 500 S. Duval St., Tallahassee FL 32399.  However, the Court is only allowed to consider arguments made in the courtroom and in documents properly filed by actual parties in the case as authorized by law and the Rules of Court.  The Court cannot ethically read or consider any other opinions or arguments about the case. Communications that do not meet these legal requirements cannot be forwarded to the Justices.

Last Modified: October 10, 2023