Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

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2020 State Judicial Elections
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The terms of 25 Florida District Courts of Appeal justices expired on January 5, 2021. The 25 seats were up for retention election on November 3, 2020. A full term on the court is six years. Twenty-four judges filed to run for retention in 2020. One judge did not file to run for retention.^[1]

Election procedure changes in 2020[edit]

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Florida modified its voter registration procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Voter registration: The voter registration deadline was extended to October 6, 2020.^[2]

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates[edit]

This is a list of the justices who stood for retention election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench.^[3]

First District Court of Appeal[edit]

First District Court of Appeal
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Candidates
Adam Tanenbaum's seat	Adam Tanenbaum (i)
Joseph Lewis' seat	Joseph Lewis (i)
L. Clayton Roberts' seat	L. Clayton Roberts (i)
Rachel Nordby's seat	Rachel Nordby (i)
Scott D. Makar's seat	Scott D. Makar (i)
Timothy D. Osterhaus' seat	Timothy D. Osterhaus (i)

Second District Court of Appeal[edit]

Second District Court of Appeal
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Candidates
Andrea Teves Smith's seat	Andrea Teves Smith (i)
Daniel H. Sleet's seat	Daniel H. Sleet (i)
J. Andrew Atkinson's seat	J. Andrew Atkinson (i)
Morris Silberman's seat	Morris Silberman (i)

Third District Court of Appeal[edit]

Third District Court of Appeal
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Candidates
Bronwyn C. Miller's seat	Bronwyn C. Miller (i)
Eric Hendon's seat	Eric Hendon (i)
Fleur J. Lobree's seat	Fleur J. Lobree (i)
Monica Gordo's seat	Monica Gordo (i)
Thomas W. Logue's seat	Thomas W. Logue (i)

Fourth District Court of Appeal[edit]

Fourth District Court of Appeal
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Office	Candidates
Alan O. Forst's seat	Alan O. Forst (i)
Mark W. Klingensmith's seat	Mark W. Klingensmith (i)
Martha Warner's seat	Martha Warner (i)

Fifth District Court of Appeal[edit]

Fifth District Court of Appeal
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Candidates
Frederic Rand Wallis' seat	Frederic Rand Wallis (i)
Jamie Rutland Grosshans' seat	Jamie Rutland Grosshans (i) (unofficially withdrew)
John M. Harris' seat	John M. Harris (i)
Kerry Evander's seat	Kerry Evander (i)
Meredith Sasso's seat	Meredith Sasso (i)
Richard Orfinger's seat	Richard Orfinger (i)

Note: Jamie Rutland Grosshans withdrew from the retention election once she was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court.

Past elections[edit]

2018[edit]

See also: Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

First District[edit]

Second District[edit]

Third District[edit]

Judges Richard Suarez and Leslie Rothenberg did not file for retention.^[4]

Fourth District[edit]

Fifth District[edit]

Click [show] at the right to view more past election results.

2016 First District James Wolf was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Wolf's Seat election with 62.52% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Wolf's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes James Wolf 62.52% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Ross L. Bilbrey was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Bilbrey's Seat election with 63.25% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Bilbrey's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Ross L. Bilbrey 63.25% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results T. Kent Wetherell was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Wetherell's Seat election with 62.23% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Wetherell's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes T. Kent Wetherell 62.23% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Lori S. Rowe was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Rowe's Seat election with 63.53% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Rowe's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Lori S. Rowe 63.53% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Susan Kelsey was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Kelsey's Seat election with 64.94% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Kelsey's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Susan Kelsey 64.94% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Thomas D. “Bo” Winokur was retained in the Florida First District Court of Appeal, Winokur's Seat election with 61.52% of the vote. Florida First District Court of Appeal, Winokur's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Thomas D. “Bo” Winokur 61.52% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Second District Stevan Northcutt was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Northcutt's Seat election with 67.50% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Northcutt's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Stevan Northcutt 67.50% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Nelly Khouzam was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Khouzam's Seat election with 67.37% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Khouzam's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Nelly Khouzam 67.37% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Patricia Kelly was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Kelly's Seat election with 72.24% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Kelly's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Patricia Kelly 72.24% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Douglas Wallace was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Wallace's Seat election with 69.92% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Wallace's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Douglas Wallace 69.92% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Craig Villanti was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Villanti's Seat election with 69.74% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Villanti's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Craig Villanti 69.74% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Robert J. Morris Jr. was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Morris' Seat election with 69.38% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Morris' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Robert J. Morris, Jr. 69.38% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Marva Crenshaw was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Crenshaw's Seat election with 68.82% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Crenshaw's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Marva Crenshaw 68.82% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Matthew C. Lucas was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Lucas' Seat election with 70.76% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Lucas' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Matthew C. Lucas 70.76% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Samuel Salario was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Salario's Seat election with 69.81% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Salario's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Samuel Salario 69.81% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results John L. Badalamenti was retained in the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Badalamenti's Seat election with 69.34% of the vote. Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Badalamenti's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes John L. Badalamenti 69.34% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Third District Linda Ann Wells was retained in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, Wells' Seat election with 74.72% of the vote. Florida Third District Court of Appeal, Wells' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Linda Ann Wells 74.72% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Edwin A. Scales, III was retained in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, Scales' Seat election with 71.77% of the vote. Florida Third District Court of Appeal, Scales' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Edwin A. Scales, III 71.77% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Fourth District Robert Gross was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Gross' Seat election with 72.74% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Gross' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Robert Gross 72.74% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Cory Ciklin was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Ciklin's Seat election with 73.79% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Ciklin's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Cory Ciklin 73.79% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Melanie May was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, May's Seat election with 76.12% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, May's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Melanie May 76.12% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Dorian Damoorgian was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Damoorgian's Seat election with 72.75% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Damoorgian's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Dorian Damoorgian 72.75% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Jonathan D. Gerber was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Gerber's Seat election with 74.70% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Gerber's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Jonathan D. Gerber 74.70% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Spencer D. Levine was retained in the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Levine's Seat election with 73.02% of the vote. Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, Levine's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Spencer D. Levine 73.02% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Fifth District Jay Cohen was retained in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Cohen's Seat election with 67.95% of the vote. Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Cohen's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Jay Cohen 67.95% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Vincent Torpy was retained in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Torpy's Seat election with 68.33% of the vote. Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Torpy's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Vincent Torpy 68.33% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Brian D. Lambert was retained in the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Lambert's Seat election with 68.85% of the vote. Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Lambert's Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes Brian D. Lambert 68.85% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Edwards' Seat, 2016 Name Yes votes James A. Edwards 69.43% Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results

Selection[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in Florida

Like Florida's supreme court justices, judges of the district courts of appeal are nominated by the state's judicial nominating commission and then appointed by the governor. They serve six-year terms and are re-elected through retention elections.^[5]

Qualifications[edit]

To be considered for appointment, a candidate must be:

• a qualified elector;
• a Florida resident;
• admitted to practice law in Florida for at least 10 years;
• no more than 75^[6]

See also[edit]

Florida	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Florida Florida Court of Appeals Florida Supreme Court	Elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Florida	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links[edit]

• Search Google News for this topic
• Florida District Courts of Appeal

Footnotes[edit]

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