Maureen Horkan
Charles McBurney
Michael Bateh
Gerald Wilkerson
LaRae Hendrix
Kimberly Sadler
While most of the races in the Aug. 28 primary election will be settled in runoffs Nov. 6, the candidates for judge will know the outcome of their campaigns Aug. 28.
Two candidates are vying for each of the three judicial offices on the ballot.
In the only circuit court election that will be on the ballot in Duval County, Maureen Horkan and Charles McBurney are the candidates for Seat 18 in the 4th Judicial Circuit.
In the Duval County Court, two contested races will be on the ballot: Group 3, Michael Bateh and Gerald Wilkerson; and Group 8, LaRae Hendrix and Kimberly Sadler.
The majority of judges will be re-elected without opposition.
In the 4th Judicial Circuit, Judges Don Lester, Steven Whittington, Thomas Beverly, Karen Cole, Katie Dearing, Kevin Blazs, Robert Dees, Gary Wilkinson, Eric Roberson, Mark Borello, John Guy, Collins Cooper and Suzanne Bass are the sole candidates for their seats. All but Dearing and Cooper are incumbents.
Duval County jurists who will be re-elected are Judges Roberto Arias, Pauline Drake, Emmet Ferguson III, James Ruth, Kelly Elizabeth Eckley, Michelle Kalil and Dawn Hudson.
In the 1st District Court of Appeal, which includes Northeast Florida, Judges Harvey Jay, Stephanie Ray, Brad Thomas, Kemmerly Thomas and Allen Winsor all qualified for retention.
Campaigning for a seat on the bench is much more low-profile than for other elected offices.
With judicial candidates subject to the Canon 7 Code of Conduct set forth by the state Supreme Court, they don’t campaign against each other in the media like some of the other candidates. Each judicial candidate maintains a website where they can list their qualifications and endorsements and some are active on social media.
If you want to see a head-to-head presentation, the Jacksonville Bar Association hosted a judicial forum June 12 for the candidates that are on the ballot. Visit Facebook.com/MyJaxBar to view the video.
Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan disqualified himself from serving on the Duval County Canvassing Board because his son, Joshua, is a candidate in the Republican primary election for state representative in District 15, along with Wyman Duggan and Mark Zeigler.
State law prohibits candidates with opposition, or active participants in the campaign of a candidate with opposition, from canvassing an election.
Fourth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Mark Mahon appointed Duval County Judge Ronald Higbee, alternate chair of the board, to serve in Hogan’s place.
With students back in school, Jacksonville’s voluntary Bar associations are scheduling meetings and programs.
The Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association is presenting a 90-minute continuing legal education program, “Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession,” at noon Thursday at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse.
The CLE will be taught by facilitators from the Women’s Center of Jacksonville, Rape Recovery Team Programs Director Robin Graber and Quality Assurance Coordinator Shane Kennedy.
The Florida Bar approved 2.0 hours of bias elimination credit. Complimentary lunch is sponsored by Bellwether.
Visit JWLA.org for more information.
The Jacksonville Bar Association’s first member luncheon for 2018-19 is at noon Sept. 12 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.
Keynote speaker Amy Donofrio will present “How the Justice System Can Provide Context to Fight for Change.”
Donofrio is founder of the EVAC Movement, a student leadership program at Robert E. Lee High School. In 2017, the program won the national KIND Schools Challenge sponsored by Harvard University.
The Florida Bar approved 0.5 CLE/0.5 bias elimination credits.
Visit jaxbar.org to register.
