Overview

Circuit Courts are trial courts, sitting above County Courts. Most relevant in the context of elections, Circuit Courts are where contests of election will be heard. Fla. Stat. § 102.168(2). Additionally, Circuit Courts “have the power to issue writs of mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, prohibition and habeas corpus, and all writs necessary or proper to the complete exercise of their jurisdiction.” Fla. Const. Art. V, § 5(b). The only contest of election cases not heard by the Circuit Courts are ones involving the election of a member to the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. Fla. Stat. § 102.171 (noting that “the certification of election of any person to the office of member of either house of the Legislature may only be contested in the applicable house by an unsuccessful candidate for such office…”).

Election-Related Duties

The key duties of Circuit Courts are:

1. Hearing all contests of election cases, except for those involving election to the Florida Legislature. Fla. Stat. §§ 102.168(2), 102.171.
2. Appointing and filling the vacancy for the role of a County Court Judge on the County Canvassing Board. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(a). If there are no County Court Judges that can serve, or all have been disqualified from serving, the Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit will appoint a voter of the county who is not involved in a race with opposition to fill the vacancy. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(a).[1]

Selection and Vacancy Information

• Elected: Circuit Court Judges, like County Court Judges, are elected through judicial elections by the voters within the confines of a judicial circuit, rather than through merit retention elections. “Voter Guide to Fla. Judicial and Merit Retention Elections (2024)” at 7.
• Makeup: The number of judges in each of the 20 circuits in Florida varies from circuit to circuit. Sizes range from the fewest, at four judges in the Sixteenth Circuit, to 80 judges in the Eleventh Circuit. Fla. Stat. § 26.031.
• Term of Office: Circuit Court Judges serve six-year terms. Fla. Const. Art. V, § 10(b)(3)(c).
• Next Election/Appointment: The outcome of most judicial election races (distinct from merit retention elections) are determined in primary elections. “Voter Guide to Fla. Judicial and Merit Retention Elections (2024)” at 10. For any judicial election races in which a candidate does not receive a majority of the votes at the primary election, the names of the two candidates receiving the most votes will be placed on the ballot for the general election, which is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Fla. Stat. § 105.051(1)(b).
• Qualifications and Restrictions:
  • The candidate must reside in the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. Fla. Const. Art. V, § 8.
  • The individual must be younger than 75 years old to be a judge, “except upon temporary assignment.” Fla. Const. Art. V, § 8.
  • The individual must have been a member of the Bar of Florida for the five years preceding their election. Fla. Const. Art. V, § 8.
• Vacancy: The Governor will pick an individual from a list of nominees supplied by the Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy. Fla. Const. Art. V, § 11(b). That appointee will serve for at least one year from the appointment, and then until after the next primary and general elections have occurred. Fla. Const. Art. V, § 11(b). The day the term ends will be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January (after the general election). Fla. Const. Art. V, § 11(b).

Footnotes