Florida divides the state into 20 judicial circuits, and circuit nominating commissions and the Governor must consider population, caseload, and racial/ethnic distribution factors when handling judgeship vacancies.
26.021 Judicial circuits; judges.—The state is divided into 20 judicial circuits:(1) The first circuit is composed of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties. (2) The second circuit is composed of Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla 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. (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. (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 Miami-Dade County. (12) The twelfth circuit is composed of DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota 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. (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)-(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.