About Florida Circuit Courts
"The third tier of the judiciary (in Florida) is the circuit court. A court of general jurisdiction, the circuit court handles: probate matters (wills), civil actions in which the disputed amount exceeds $15,000, and felony criminal cases which includes cases punishable by more than one year in state prison.
"Circuit court also hears cases in equity such as domestic relations (divorce, child custody, and injunctions for protection), juvenile proceedings and petitions for writs. The circuit court hears appeals from county court.
"Circuit judges are elected by popular vote within the circuit for six year terms. The circuit judges and county court judges within a circuit elect one of the circuit judges as chief judge of the circuit for a two year term. The chief judge aided by the court administrator is responsible for administration of the courts within the circuit."
Circuit court judges earn $142,178 annually.
Source: 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida and State of Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Coming Aug. 5
On Sunday, Aug. 5, The News-Press will publish a special 16-page section highlighting local candidates running in the Aug. 14 primary election.
We will present the local candidates’ answers to our questionnaires along with other important elections information. Races include congressional, legislative, county, school board and judges.
Endorsement Article Schedule
The News-Press editorial board will present its candidate endorsement articles on the following days:
July 15: U.S. House
July 16: Florida House
July 17: Lee County commission
July 18: Lee County School Board
July 19: Lee County tax collector and clerk of court
Today: Lee County sheriff
Saturday: 20th Circuit judges
Sunday: Endorsement recap
More
Election coverage
Candidates database | Political blog | Political ad tracker
Voter info: How to use voting machine video | Info on casting ballots early | Find your precinct
The 20th Circuit jurists are the trial judges of the five-county area that makes up Southwest Florida.
Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades voters elect them to serve six-year terms.
They preside over murder trials and major civil cases, for example.
They have enormous responsibility to dole out justice in a fair and timely manner.
Yet few voters know much about their elected judges, because judicial cannons prohibit them from talking about how they might rule on a case or their personal politics.
The office is nonpartisan and all registered voters may vote for them in the Aug. 14 primary election.
The winner will be named that day; there is no general election for these positions.
Election time brings one great advantage — you can get answers from judges and judicial candidates about their character, the most difficult decisions they ever made, their concepts on justice and fairness, how they might expedite cases while still guarding the rights of all, and their ideas on funding the court system.
There are 599 circuit judges in the state of Florida.
They are part of the third branch of government, which is funded by less than 1 percent of Florida’s $70 billion budget.
Funding has been uneven in recent years because it had been for a time tied to foreclosure filing fees and the court system had to take loans from the executive branch.
The system’s money now will be more consistently coming from then general budget revenue. That’s a good thing.
An independent judiciary is critical to ensuring people have their day in court.
It’s important that voters make wise decisions about who their jurists will be.
These judges will set the tone for their courtroom and the attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, victims, witnesses, law enforcements officers and others that appear before them.
They will also affect how ordinary citizen view the court system.
Overall these candidates are addressing critical issues the court must address: fairness, offering a welcoming environment and providing for a timely disposition of cases.
The News-Press Editorial Board presents endorsements for the four judicial seats up for election.
Our choice in primary for 20th Circuit Group 9: Margaret "Meg" Steinbeck
Our choice in primary for 20th Circuit Group 18: MC Fernandez III
Our choice in primary for 20th Circuit Group 26: Lisa Spader Porter
Our choice in primary for 20th Circuit Group 29: George Richards
