All About Florida Circuit Court Judges
The duties and responsibilities of a Florida Circuit Court Judge are broad and complex. They preside over a wide variety of cases including felony criminal cases, family law matters, contracts, real property disputes, juvenile delinquency and dependency issues, and more. In addition to presiding over trials, Circuit Court Judges are responsible for case management, which involves the supervision of hundreds of court files in their circuits and the individuals that come within hundreds of miles of the courthouse every day. Much of the time is also spent deciding motions, pre-trial matters, and other issues that arise after the filing of a lawsuit or criminal case.
Judges have huge responsibilities and must make decisions that can affect the lives of those brought before them. For this reason, judges spend time reading witness testimony and juror instructions in order to ensure they are fully informed about each case adjudicated.
Florida rules and statutes provide defined areas of responsibility for judges in their assigned divisions. For example , a Family Division Judge is responsible for the registration of foreign divorce decrees, marriage annulments, paternity and paternity determinations, name changes, adoptions, juvenile dependency, delinquency, and truancy proceedings, domestic violence, and support enforcement issues. The judge also reviews all petitions and motions filed, conducts hearings on child custody cases, issues injunctions for protection, attends and conducts judicial sales, addresses contested matters heard by the Dependency Master, and may file emergency motions under the Florida Evidence Code regarding privileged information.
To be effective, judges must also participate in continuing education. Judges attend lectures, conferences, and workshops given by the Florida Bar and other legal organizations, perform independent research, and read publications. Judicial training is extensive. Florida judges must also pass a recent criminal history records check and the examination for United States citizenship.
Current Salary for Florida Circuit Court Judges
Currently, Florida Circuit Court judges earn a base salary of $160,000 per year. Unlike their counterparts on the Federal bench, their compensation does not vary based on years of service on the bench. And, unlike some legislators who supplement their State tax dollars with outside income from private industry, it is my understanding that Circuit Court judges are not permitted to receive side compensation or income earned as a private attorney while also serving on the Florida bench. While that may be an issue for another blog post in the future, for a myriad of reasons, I think it’s appropriately addressed here.
Florida Circuit Court judges are elected to six-year terms from one of twenty judicial circuits in the state. On average, a Circuit Court judge’s service on the bench has about eleven years (Naylor Report, P. 2).
While the Naylor Report proposes to move Circuit Court judges to $220,000 (keeping in mind the former compensation for a District Court of Appeal judge is $166,000), it is unclear if that would be the same base for a new judge appointee, or if their starting salaries would be based on their years of experience as an attorney prior to being appointed or elected to the bench.
What Affects A Florida Circuit Court Judge Salary
Factors Influencing Salary Circuits 1-15 and 20-24, 8/1/22 – 7/31/23
Our review of the law showed that a Circuit Court Judge’s salary is to be set pursuant to section 28(c) and (d). (Section 28(c) states that "subject to budgetary limitations, the salary of each circuit judge shall be equal to or equalized with the salary of each district court of appeal judge".)
Because several counties house 2nd and 3rd DCA and 11th and 13th Judicial Circuit judges, for Circuit Judges from circuits 2, 5, 12, and 13 to be equalized with all district court judges, and all other circuit judges to be equalized with only 3rd DCA judges, the JQC may be the only entity accounting for salary differences in Florida Circuit Court Judges.
There is also a separate salary for Senior Circuit Court Judges. Senior judges are defined as retired with 30 years experience, and are assigned by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.
No Circuit Court judge in the State of Florida was acting as an Arbitral Tribunal during the period of time that we were reviewing.
How Circuit Court Judge Salaries Compare
The salaries of Florida Circuit Court Judges vary widely based on their level of experience and the number of years served in that circuit. This is in contrast to the fixed salaries of other judges, whose compensation does not change but every two years.
While the average Florida Circuit Court Judge salary is $151,00 in Florida, the salary for newly appointed Circuit Judges is at $140,000. After 8 years of service as Circuit Judge, they will receive $152,000 a year. After 12 years, they will make $157,400 of the base rate of $160,000 for the most senior Judicial positions in the state.
In contrast, Supreme Court Justices in Florida currently make $165,000, which is more than any other judicial position in the state. County Court Judges, also known as County Judges, who are the District Court of Appeal and are also considered trial judges, earn just $135,000 per year.
When compared with other states’ circuit court judges, the Florida Circuit Judge salaries fall nicely in line. The annual salaries for Florida circuit judges are listed below:
Alabama: $115,000
Alaska: $210,000
Arizona: $145,126
California: $199,100
Colorado: $151,111
Georgia: $147,748
Illinois: $168,000
Kentucky: $134,363
Louisiana: $128,870
Nebraska: $140,000
New Hampshire:$113,676
North Carolina: $137,000
Ohio: $145,000
Pennsylvania: $155,000
Rhode Island: $145,000
Wisconsin: $155,920
Federal Bankruptcy: $177,900
Federal Circuit: $170,800
Federal District: $174,000
Federal Magistrate: $130,300
Federal Claims: $158,500
The information provided from other states judges’ salaries is gathered from their states’ 2012 salary schedule. As we move further into 2016, those numbers will likely rise in the coming years, but serve as a good guideline to see how Florida judges stacks up with the rest of the country.
Other Ways Judges Get Paid (Including Benefits)
Florida Circuit Court Judges are eligible for health and other insurance coverage available to state employees, although they must pay the employee’s contribution of the premium. They also receive free parking and may participate in a deferred compensation plan and deferred compensation retirement savings plan. Judges are members of the Florida Retirement System, and the employer pays the retirement contribution on the first $28,750 of the salary base. Judges hired after July 1, 2000 generally participate in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida Retirement System and pay a retirement contribution on their total salary . Judges hired before July 1, 2000 are vested in the Elected State Judicial Benefits program. Their benefit is computed as 3.3% of the average of their five highest fiscal year ending salaries multiplied by years of service. Judges may elect the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), a financial planning tool that allows them to continue working while saving pension benefits. Judges who terminate service under the Elected State Judicial Benefit Program receive a legislatively approved salary supplement equal to the difference between the retirement benefit under that program and the current salary for an active judge.
Career Path and Future Salary Prospects
Typically, a Florida Circuit Court Judge enters the position with a minimum of experience and education requirements met. As they gain more experience and tenure in the position, Florida Circuit Court Judges are eligible for salary increases. These salary increases occur annually based on a number of factors, sometimes including length of service and promotions.
The most common method of increase is through tenure-based salary increases. Like the majority of other Florida State level Judicial positions, increases are provided for all Judges, generally ranging from 1.12% to 1.65% based on the length of judicial service in the state of Florida as of July 1st of the year in which the increases take effect. What this means is that whether a Judge is just beginning their service or has been on the bench for multiple years, they will receive periodic increases based on time served. Salary increases are normally issued in July of each year.
Another method of increase, provided all vacancies are filled as anticipated, is from judicial promotions. There may be opportunities for Circuit Judges to seek a promotion for the next available appellate position as a County Judge or Circuit Judge if they are successful in applying for an open position. There are also cases where individual Judges may enjoy appointment to higher courts as they vacate or elect to resign.
Depending on the career path and length of time on the bench, a Circuit Judge can expect a gradual but guaranteed salary growth over time. With the average service time of 12.6 years prior to retirement or resignation, the career path for Circuit Court Judges is usually to climb through the lower levels of the state judiciary during their time in office.
Working for the State of Florida, all judicial positions are bound by high standards of activity, responsibility and professionalism expected of all members of the Florida Bar. The majority of service provides regular opportunities to improve not only pay but overall quality of justice in the State of Florida.
Challenges with Adjusting Judge Salaries
Given the number of judicial vacancies that exist at this moment, and the obviously stagnant wages, a reader of this blog might be surprised to hear that the obstacle to decreasing vacancies actually does not lie in finding individuals to come forward and pick up the judicial gavel.
There are three primary challenges involved in adjusting judicial salaries in Florida:
o First, in doing so, legislators have to make the argument that spending more money on judicial salaries is somehow a better use of money than what else they could spend it on.
o Second, is that statewide prosecutors and public defenders also receive salary increases every time judicial salaries increase.
o Third, without any judicial salary adjustments, there is no incentive to leave the bench. You would think that in an over populated state like Florida with the slowest judicial turnover in the country, this would make some judicial members want to leave. However, for many judges, when they see $160k salaries, they are too enticed to leave .
In an update to all of my readers of Firkin on the Bench, I want to give you some insight into what these salary challenges look like now. The 2012 Florida Statutes authorize the following salaries, without benefits, to judges of the state courts:
• Florida Supreme Court justices: $151,100
• Florida Supreme Court chief justices: $158,700
• Circuit court judges: $151,100
• Circuit court chief judges: $158,700
• County court judges: $145,900, including judges designated as traffic magistrates
• County court chief judges: $152,400
In addition, the Legislature may pay for additional expenses to support judges and their families. These expenses may include housing costs, transportation for work, child care, and scholarships for judges’ children. The Legislature also authorizes the payment of certain expenses for the child of an emergency interim successor to a justice of the Supreme Court due to the impairment of that position or a vacancy in that position.