Ex-supreme court judge to be selected in Jameis Winston investigation

The presiding judge tasked with deciding whether Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston violated the school's code of conduct will soon be selected.

One of three former Florida Supreme Court judges will preside over the case and determine whether or not Winston committed as many as four violations of FSU's student code, and possibly determine what his punishment should be. The sophomore pigskin-launcher could face expulsion.

Winston's troubles stem from an alleged rape of a then-18 year old FSU student in Dec. 2012. The school recently reopened the investigation and informed Winston on Friday night that he had five days  to contact the school's Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to schedule an information hearing.

Winston can reject one candidate, while his accuser can reject one as well, leaving the remaining judge to be called upon.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach reports that the three judges are:

- Joseph Hatchett, 82, a native of Clearwater, Florida, who became the first African-American appointed to the Florida Supreme Court in 1975 and was the first black man appointed to a federal appeals court in the Deep South by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

- Charles T. Wells, 75, a Florida Supreme Court justice from 1994 to 2009. Wells, a graduate of the University of Florida and the UF Law School, was the court's chief justice from 2000 to 2002 and presided over the 2000 U.S. presidential election recount cases.

- Major B. Harding, 79, a state Supreme Court justice from 1991 to 2000, who preceded Wells as the court's chief justice. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Harding is a graduate of Wake Forest and Virginia's law school.

FSU's student conduct cases are typically heard by one of many high-ranking administers, like the Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities or the Dean of Students.

However, in what Florida State called "the best interests of the University," interim president Garnett Stokes and vice president for student affairs Mary Coburn chose to have one of three people from outside the university conduct the formal investigative hearing.