In a non election year, the Sarasota County Bar Association conducts an evaluation of judges and magistrates who preside in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit.  This survey not only provides valuable feedback for the respective judicial officers but also offers information to the general public about the quality and performance of their local judiciary. This evaluation process has been developed over several years with input from lawyers, local judges, and the media using qualification categories consistent with the standards adopted by the American Bar Association and many state bar associations for the judiciary. Criteria classifications include:

• Legal Knowledge
• Integrity & Ethics
• Impartiality
• Judicial Temperament
• Courtroom Administration
• Preparedness
• Timeliness of Decisions
• Effective Decision Making
• Punctuality
• Use of Remote Hearing Technology
• Overall Evaluation

In October, the survey is emailed to every attorney whose official Florida Bar address is within the Twelfth Judicial Circuit.  Lawyers who respond must verify that they have only evaluated judicial officers before whom they have appeared in the last two years.  Additionally, if a given judicial officer should receive too few responses, the results will be reported as “insufficient responses to evaluate."

• Results of the 2021 Judicial Evaluation
• Results of the 2019 Judicial Evaluation
• Results of the 2017 Judicial Evaluation
• Results of the 2015 Judicial Evaluation