Kyc: 5th District Court of Appeal

They may not wave election banners or give stump speeches, but several of the judges on Florida's 5th District Court of Appeal still must get a nod from the voters this election season.

Only the governor has the power to appoint an appeals court judge. But after the judges are appointed, the public decides whether they deserve another six-year term.

In what is called a merit retention election, voters choose whether to retain an appellate court judge. If residents opt not to renew a judge's term, the vacancy will be filled by another gubernatorial appointment, which is made based on recommendations from judicial nominating commissions.

Judges on the 5th District Court of Appeal meet in Daytona Beach, usually in groups of three, to review lower courts' decisions.

Citrus and Hernando counties are part of the state's 5th District, which also includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia counties.

Voters in all these counties will have a say in whether the judges are retained for additional six-year terms.

Four of the nine judges who sit on the court face a merit-retention vote this year. They are Richard B. Orfinger, William D. Palmer, Robert J. Pleus Jr. and Thomas D. Sawaya.

Orfinger

Orfinger, 50, was born in Daytona Beach. He received a degree in history from Tulane University in 1974 and a law degree from the University of Florida in 1976. Appointed to the 5th District Court of Appeal in 2000, he served on the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1991 to 2000. He was in private practice from 1978 to 1991 and served as an assistant state attorney from 1976 through 1978.

Palmer

Palmer, 50, was a lawyer in private practice before he was appointed to the court of appeal. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in management science and received a law degree from Boston College. Palmer served on the Florida Bar's Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee from 1989 through 1995 and was its chairman from 1992 to 1994.

Pleus, 66, is a

Pleus

n Orlando native. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in political science in 1957. Pleus earned a law degree from the University of Florida and also received a master's degree in pastoral ministries from Loyola University in New Orleans. He was appointed to the court of appeal in 2000. Before taking a seat on the bench, he worked in private practice. Pleus is ordained as a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church and was awarded the Legal Aid Society Award of Excellence in 1994.

Sawaya

Sawaya, 50, received a degree in political science from the University of South Florida and graduated fourth in his class from Stetson University College of Law in 1977. He had a general law practice in Ocala from 1978 to 1986 and worked part time as an assistant state attorney in 1985 and 1986. Sawaya was elected as a Marion County judge in 1986 and elected to the 5th Judicial Circuit in 1990. He is an Ocala native.

THE JOB

The 5th District Court of Appeal is based in Daytona Beach and includes Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Sumter, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, Volusia, Orange, Osceola, Brevard and Seminole counties. Judges hear criminal and civil appeals from state courts in those counties. They are paid $141,963 a year.