Like all judicial elections in Florida, the race for Duval County Court Judge, Group 1 is non-partisan, open to all voters in the county. With only two candidates on the ballot in this race, it will be decided in the August primary.
County court judges oversee a wide range of cases, including criminal cases (misdemeanor, county and municipal ordinances, traffic), civil cases (disputes over $8,000 to $50,000), landlord-tenant cases, small claims cases (disputes up to $8,000), and non-criminal traffic cases.
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Of note, judicial candidates in Florida are bound by Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which does place some limits on what they can say during a campaign, as compared to candidates for other offices.
News4JAX sent a questionnaire to each candidate asking about their background and their views on several issues. Scroll down to read the responses of those seeking your vote in their own words.
Note: Responses are sorted alphabetically and are presented exactly as submitted, with no editing by News4JAX staff.
| NON-PARTISAN CANDIDATES |
Matt Lufrano
Occupation: Presently I am an attorney licensed to practice by the Florida Bar. I have practiced law since I was sworn in as a member of the Bar on September 24, 2009. Since that time I worked for four and a half years at the Duval County Public Defender’s Office. During my time as a Public Defender I represented indigent clients in first appearance court, misdemeanor court, criminal traffic court, and repeat offender court. In 2014, I left the Public Defender’s Office and went into private practice, opening my own law firm. Since that time I have continued to practice criminal law and I have also expanded my practice to include civil matters, injunctions, administrative issues, traffic cases, as well as sealings and expungements.
Age: 42
Family: My wife Lauren and I were married in June of 2024. Lauren is a clinical health psychologist who works at the Mayo Clinic assisting patients with chronic conditions. I also happen to be the oldest of four siblings and the proud uncle to two nephews and a niece. My parents are wonderful people who taught all of us the importance of hard work and of service to our community. They still reside in Duval County.
Education: I graduated from High School in 2002 from Jacksonville Episcopal High School. Then in 2006 I graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Political Science. After graduation I continued my education enrolling in the University of Florida Levin College of Law. In 2009 I graduated cum laude from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Political experience: I am not a politician, but rather an attorney committed to serving our community. As such, I have never previously held public office. However, I firmly believe that as a result of my years of legal practice, my legal expertise recognized by the Florida Bar, and my temperament, I am qualified to serve as Duval County’s next County Court Judge.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
While this is an intriguing question, the canons of judicial ethics do not allow candidates to establish platforms or offer personal opinions on issues. The rationale behind this is that neither judicial candidates nor elected judges decide policy. Rather it is incumbent on judicial candidates and judges to follow the law. As such, I remain duty bound to adhere to the canons of judicial ethics and cannot provide a more detailed answer.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
As mentioned above, the canons of judicial ethics limit what answers judicial candidates can provide. As part of those limitations judicial candidates may not make campaign promises or pledges to potential voters. However, I can provide those interested in this race with my qualifications to serve as Duval County’s next County Court Judge. To begin, I have spent my entire career in the courtroom, observing our judges, learning the evidence code, and practicing law. To date I have represented thousands of clients and tried over 80 cases to verdict before juries. I have also been recognized by the Florida Bar as an expert in Criminal Trial Law by earning Board Certification. This is particularly noteworthy because County Court Judges practice criminal law when presiding over misdemeanor court, criminal traffic court, and first appearance court. I also happen to be the only candidate running for this seat who is Board Certified in an area of law by the Florida Bar. Beyond this, I was raised to believe that community service wasn’t an optional pursuit, but rather it was a responsibility. In college my primary extracurricular activities were focused on a co-ed community service organization. Today I continue to provide pro bono legal services and volunteer my time on the boards of various non-profits. But as noteworthy as those endeavors may be I also know that I could do even more to serve our community if elected as Duval County’s next County Court Judge. As a County Court Judge I would ensure that matters that come before me are decided fairly and impartially. Such a position would also afford me the ability to serve the community by mentoring the next generation of young attorneys who would come before me. Such mentoring was pivotal to my legal career and I am committed to pass on my legal knowledge to others within our community. Additionally, working as a member of the judiciary and serving the people of Duval County has been an aspiration of mine for years. Now here in the State of Florida there are two avenues through which someone can become a judge, and these avenues are election and judicial appointment. While in this specific instance I am seeking to become a judge through election, over the past five years or so I have previously applied for multiple judicial appointments and gone through the intense vetting of our local Judicial Nominating Commission. As such, I am also proud to report that on each of those prior instances when I applied, our local Judicial Nominating Commission advanced my name for possible judicial appointment. But ultimately I believe that my experience, expertise, temperament, and commitment to service make me an outstanding candidate to serve as Duval’s next County Court Judge and I would be honored to have your vote in August.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
I should start by saying that I don’t aspire to this position for personal gain or notoriety. As any public servant, my primary goal would be to serve our community well in the areas over which I am tasked with presiding. This means ensuring that litigants before me are afforded a fair opportunity to be heard and that the laws of our state are followed. A secondary personal goal would be to endeavor to encourage professionalism and collegiality within our legal profession. I say this because I firmly believe that these two goals would not only be tremendous feats, but would also help ensure public confidence in our judicial system.
Campaign website: mattlufrano.com
Campaign social media: (None given)
Latoya Williams Shelton
Occupation: (No response)
Age: (No response)
Family: (No response)
Education: (No response)
Political experience: (No response)
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them? (No response)
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot? (No response)
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office? (No response)
Campaign website: lwsheltonforjudge.com