Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Clifton Drake of Crestview to serve as judge on the First Circuit bench and Lori Cotton of Ocala to a Marion County Court vacancy.

 Drake, an assistant state attorney since 2010, has been a felony special prosecutor in the First Judicial Circuit for six years and previously served as a Felony Division prosecutor for four years. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Drake fills the judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ross Goodman.

Cotton has served as an assistant state attorney in the Fifth Circuit since 2001. For seven years, she served as training director for the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office providing training for the 100+ assistant state attorneys in the circuit while also prosecuting cases. She received her bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and her law degree from the University of Florida College of Law. Cotton fills a judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Sarah Ritterhoff Williams.