Judges in Hillsborough County, FL
The judicial directory for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, FL, can be found at https://www.fljud13.org/JudicialDirectory.aspx. The directory contains the judge’s name, phone number, courtroom number, office number, and judicial assistant’s name.
Each judge has a profile page that contains additional contact information, the judge’s procedures/preferences, forms, schedules, orders, related links, and announcements.
If available, the court’s link for Zoom virtual hearings can be found on the profile page. However, some judges have eliminated the option of appearing via Zoom for certain types of matters, but make sure you have written permission from the clerk’s office or your criminal defense attorney before failing to appear in person in court.
At the Sammis Law Firm, we appear in court each time, but often waive our client’s appearance to many of the initial court dates with permission from the court after filing a waiver of appearance. Of course, for any evidentiary motion hearings or trial date, our client must appear in person and arrive to court early.
Circuit Court Judges in Hillsborough County, FL
For the Circuit Criminal Division, Administrative Order A-2024-045 announced the new judicial assignments in Hillsborough County effective June 1, 2024.
| Division Type | Division | Judge |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Criminal Division | A | Barbara Twine Thomas |
| B | Kimberly K. Fernandez | |
| C | Christine A. Marlewski | |
| D | G. Gregory Green | |
| E | Mark D. Kiser | |
| G | Robin F. Fuson | |
| 1 | Elizabeth G. Rice | |
| J (PostConviction Relief) | D. Michelle Sisco | |
| K (Violation of Probation) | Nick Nazaretian | |
| M (Mental Health) | Michael J. Scionti | |
| 0 (Preliminary Proceedings) | Laura E. Ward (through May 31, 2024) | |
| J. Logan Murphy (effective June 3, 2024) | ||
| Specialty Divisions for Circuit Criminal | PTI Drug Court W | Denise A. Pomponio |
| Drug Court Y | Denise A. Pomponio | |
| Drug Court Z (Marchman Act) | Denise A. Pomponio | |
| Trial Divisions | 1 | D. Michelle Sisco |
| 2 | Lyann Goudie | |
| 3 | Samantha L. Ward | |
| Veterans Treatment Court Division | V | Michael J. Scionti |
| Protective Injunction Divisions | G | Frances M. Perrone |
| H | Jessica G. Costello | |
| K | Melissa C. Black | |
| Juvenile Delinquency Division | A | Lawrence M. Lefler |
| B (Mental Health) | Michael J. Scionti | |
| E (Drug Court) | Denise A. Pomponio | |
| F | Kim Brennan | |
| Juvenile Dependency Division | C | Daryl M. Manning |
| D | Lisa D. Campbell | |
| I (Independent Living Transition Services) | Katherine G. Essrig | |
| J (Family Dependency Treatment Court) | Daryl M. Manning | |
| S | Leslie K. Schultz-Kin | |
| V (Dependency Specialty) | Katherine G. Essrig | |
| Risk Protection Order Hearings | N (Probate, Guardianship, Mental Health, and Trust) | Caroline Tesche Arkin (Risk Protection Orders) |
County Court Judges in Hillsborough County, FL
Except for domestic violence criminal offenses, the clerk assigns all misdemeanor offenses and criminal traffic offenses to a county criminal division according to the first letter of the defendant’s last name.
This rule applies to all cases going to the courthouse in Tampa, FL, because cases assigned to the Plant City Courthouse use a different procedure.
For non-domestic violence cases based in Tampa, FL, if the notice to appear, criminal report affidavit, or information is filed, then the clerk will assign the case according to the following alphabetical distribution:
- Division “A” with The Honorable Jack N. Gutman
- Division “B” with The Honorable Margaret R. Taylor
- Division “C” with The Honorable Scott A. Farr
- Division “D” with The Honorable Jeffrey M. Rich
- Division “E” with The Honorable Monique M. Scott
All Domestic Violence Cases go to Division “F.” Effective November 15, 2021, The Honorable Michael C. Bagge-Hernandez is assigned to County Criminal Division “F.” All First Appearance Cases go to Division “O” with The Honorable Laura E. Ward.
The judge assigned to all Non-Criminal Non-Traffic Infractions is Christopher E. Brown is assigned to County Civil Division “T.”
If you are charged with a felony, your case will be assigned to a felony judge in Circuit Court in Hillsborough County, FL, the criminal division.
This article was last updated on Friday, July 26, 2024.
