Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal

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The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal is one of six intermediate appellate courts in Florida. It is located in Lakeland and has nine judges.

The Florida Supreme Court recommended in November 2021 the creation of a sixth appellate court. In 2022, the Florida Legislature passed HB 7027, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), to establish the court effective January 1, 2023. The court has jurisdiction over three circuits: the Ninth, Tenth, and Twentieth circuits.

A committee working under the Supreme Court found that the addition of a new district would "provide adequate access to oral arguments and other proceedings, foster public trust and confidence based on geography and demographic composition, and help attract a diverse group of well-qualified applicants for judicial vacancies."

• Published opinions of the Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal can be found here.

 

Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal
Court information
Judges:	9
Founded:	2023
Salary:	Associates: $223,318
Judicial selection
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	6 years

Judges

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
John K. Stargel	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Daniel Traver	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Mary Alice Nardella	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Carrie Ann Wozniak	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Jared Smith	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Paetra Brownlee	2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Joshua Mize	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Roger Gannam	September 5, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Keith F. White	January 1, 2023 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Rachel Kamoutsas	November 17, 2025 - Present	Ron DeSantis
Joshua Pratt	November 17, 2025 - Present	Ron DeSantis

Salary

See also: Florida court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $223,318, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Florida

The justices of the Florida District Courts of Appeal are selected by a nine-member judicial nominating commission. The commission screens potential judicial candidates, submitting a list of three to six nominees to the governor. The governor must appoint a judge from this list.

Newly appointed judges serve for at least one year, after which they appear in a yes-no retention election held during the next general election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms. Under the Florida constitution, a judge must retire at age 75; however, a judge who reaches 75 after serving at least half of his or her term may complete that term.

Qualifications

To serve on one of these courts, a judge must be:

• a qualified elector;
• a resident in the jurisdiction of the court;
• admitted to practice law in the state for 10 years before assuming the bench; and
• under the age of 75.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the appellate courts is selected by peer vote. He or she serves in that capacity for two years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends three to six qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year before running in a yes-no retention election. If retained, judges serve six-year terms.

Elections

For details about Florida's judicial elections, visit the Florida judicial elections page.

• 2030
• 2028
• 2024

See also: Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2030

Joshua Mize's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Roger Gannam's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Jared Smith's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Paetra Brownlee's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Keith White's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2028

Rachel Kamoutsas' seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Carrie Wozniak's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Joshua Pratt's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

John Stargel's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Dan Traver's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Mary Nardella's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

Roger Gannam's seat

Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Roger Gannam was retained to the Florida 6th District Court of Appeal on November 5, 2024 with 62.7% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	62.7	1,018,462
	No	37.3	606,725
	Total Votes		1,625,187

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The results have been certified. Source

Paetra Brownlee's seat

Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Paetra Brownlee was retained to the Florida 6th District Court of Appeal on November 5, 2024 with 63.9% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	63.9	1,044,653
	No	36.1	589,929
	Total Votes		1,634,582

---

The results have been certified. Source

Jared Smith's seat

Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Jared Smith was retained to the Florida 6th District Court of Appeal on November 5, 2024 with 63.7% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	63.7	1,031,040
	No	36.3	587,960
	Total Votes		1,619,000

---

The results have been certified. Source

Keith White's seat

Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Keith F. White was retained to the Florida 6th District Court of Appeal on November 5, 2024 with 63.7% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	63.7	1,030,381
	No	36.3	587,310
	Total Votes		1,617,691

---

The results have been certified. Source

Joshua Mize's seat

Florida 6th District Court of Appeal

Joshua Mize was retained to the Florida 6th District Court of Appeal on November 5, 2024 with 62.9% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	62.9	1,018,234
	No	37.1	600,039
	Total Votes		1,618,273

---

The results have been certified. Source

Ethics

The Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Florida. It consists of seven canons:

• Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary"
• Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities"
• Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently"
• Canon 4: "A Judge Is Encouraged to Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System, and the Administration of Justice"
• Canon 5: "A Judge Shall Regulate Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict With Judicial Duties"
• Canon 6: "Fiscal Matters of a Judge Shall be Conducted in a Manner That Does Not Give the Appearance of Influence or Impropriety; etc."
• Canon 7: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political Activity"

The full text of the Code of Judicial Conduct for the State of Florida can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Florida may be removed in one of two ways:

• By a two-thirds vote of the senate after a two-thirds vote for impeachment by the house of representatives
• By the supreme court after a recommendation from the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission

Jurisdiction

There are three circuits and 13 counties in the Sixth District.

• Ninth Circuit: Orange and Osceola counties
• Tenth Circuit: Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties
• Twentieth Circuit: Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties

State profile

Demographic data for Florida
	Florida	U.S.
Total population:	20,244,914	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	53,625	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	76%	73.6%
Black/African American:	16.1%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.4%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	23.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	86.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,507	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.8%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida

Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.

More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Florida
• United States congressional delegations from Florida
• Public policy in Florida
• Endorsers in Florida
• Florida fact checks
• More...

See also

Florida	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Florida Florida Court of Appeals Florida Supreme Court	Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Florida	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Florida Sixth District Court of Appeals

Footnotes

Florida courts

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Federal courts:

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida

State courts:

Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court

State resources:

Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida