Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals judicial retention

Rulings from several East Coast and Central Florida judicial circuits, including the Seventh Circuit (St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and other counties), are appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

Once nominated by the governor and ratified by the legislature, appeals court judges face the voters in a “yes” or “no” vote as to whether they should remain in office in the first general election after selection and again every six years. (More about the process in the Supreme Court’s Guide for Florida Voters.)

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Six of the 11 judges in the Fifth District are up for retention votes this November.

As these are nonpartisan elections and there are no opposing candidates, we are listing the judges on the ballot and providing links to their biographies.

Jay Cohen

2008 to present (Official biography)

James A. Edwards

2014 to present. (Official biography)

Brian D. Lambert

2014 to present. Currently chief judge. (Official biography)

Mary Nardella

2021 to present. (Official biography)

Dan Traver

2019 to present. (Official biography)

Carrie Ann Wozniak

2021 to present. (Official biography)