The Florida Senate

26.021  Judicial circuits; judges.--

(1)  The first circuit is composed of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties.

(2)  The second circuit is composed of Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson, Wakulla, Liberty, and Franklin Counties.

(3)  The third circuit is composed of Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor Counties.

(4)  The fourth circuit is composed of Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties.

(5)  The fifth circuit is composed of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter Counties. Two of the circuit judges authorized for the fifth circuit shall reside in either Citrus, Hernando, or Sumter County, and neither of such two judges shall reside in the same county.

(6)  The sixth circuit is composed of Pasco and Pinellas Counties.

(7)  The seventh circuit is composed of Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia Counties. One judge shall reside in Flagler County; two judges shall reside in Putnam County; two judges shall reside in St. Johns County; and three judges shall reside in Volusia County. There shall be no residency requirement for any other judges in the circuit.

(8)  The eighth circuit is composed of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union Counties.

(9)  The ninth circuit is composed of Orange and Osceola Counties.

(10)  The tenth circuit is composed of Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties.

(11)  The eleventh circuit is composed of Dade County.

(12)  The twelfth circuit is composed of Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto Counties.

(13)  The thirteenth circuit is composed of Hillsborough County.

(14)  The fourteenth circuit is composed of Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties.

(15)  The fifteenth circuit is composed of Palm Beach County.

(16)  The sixteenth circuit is composed of Monroe County. One judge in the circuit shall reside in the middle or upper Keys. There shall be no residency requirement for any other judge in the circuit.

(17)  The seventeenth circuit is composed of Broward County.

(18)  The eighteenth circuit is composed of Brevard and Seminole Counties.

(19)  The nineteenth circuit is composed of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties.

(20)  The twentieth circuit is composed of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties.

(21)  Notwithstanding subsections (1) through (20), the territorial jurisdiction of a circuit court may be expanded as provided for in s. 910.03(3).

The judicial nominating commission of each circuit, in submitting nominations for any vacancy in a judgeship, and the Governor, in filling any vacancy for a judgeship, shall consider whether the existing judges within the circuit, together with potential nominees or appointees, reflect the geographic distribution of the population within the circuit, the geographic distribution of the caseload within the circuit, the racial and ethnic diversity of the population within the circuit, and the geographic distribution of the racial and ethnic minority population within the circuit.

History.--s. 4, ch. 72-404; s. 1, ch. 80-164; s. 1, ch. 81-220; s. 1, ch. 82-238; s. 1, ch. 94-137; s. 2, ch. 94-184.

Note.--Former ss. 26.02, 26.03, 26.04, 26.05, 26.06, 26.07, 26.08-26.16, and 26.161-26.165.