Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Judge Hernando County

SECOND TIME AROUND: The incumbent faces a familiar challenger, who has changed his tactics from six years ago when they last squared off.

This year's race for Hernando County judge is a rematch from six years ago, with the incumbent, Peyton Hyslop, facing a challenge from Assistant State Attorney Don Scaglione.

At stake is the duty of fairly handling people who are amateurs in the judicial system. County court sees mostly first-time offenders introduced to the court through traffic violations, unpaid bills and other minor infractions. Attorneys are rare and trials infrequent.

Hyslop touts his experience, courtesy and benevolence in handing out second chances. Hyslop was first appointed 15 years ago.

This time around, Scaglione's campaign has taken a slightly different tack, challenging Hyslop's organizational and management skills as much as highlighting the candidates' different philosophies.

That's because Scaglione's major campaign issue six years ago - Hyslop's tendency to lower bail for criminal suspects - has become obsolete, now that Hyslop no longer presides over felony first appearances.

Hyslop's authority to set bail at felony first appearances was suspended in October. His contention that first-appearance judges are within their rights to lower bails, based on an evaluation of the case, irked circuit judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, although the Florida Supreme Court backed him up in a 2000 ruling. Setting unreasonably high bail, in effect, imposes a sentence without a trial, Hyslop has said.

He still stays busy on the bench.

"It's not only criminal cases, but there's at least 2,000 or more civil cases each year," Hyslop said, noting that Scaglione has worked with crime exclusively in Hernando County since 1990.

But Scaglione said Hyslop's tendencies toward minimum sentencing and lowering bail have given Hernando County a reputation of being soft on criminals. He also accused Hyslop of "being an advocate" of defendants.

"I don't think that what Peyton's doing is in the best interests of this community," Scaglione said.

Case management has become the other major issue in this election.

The County Court caseload has grown by 33 percent over the past year alone, according to records.

Scaglione said Hyslop's method of docket scheduling wastes time. He pointed to his ability to organize murder trials and said he would schedule cases at particular times, based on estimates. He said he would start County Court at 8 a.m.

Hyslop starts his morning hearings in his office about 9 a.m. But Hyslop said he rarely ends his day after 5 p.m.

Yet, Hyslop once scheduled more than 400 cases in a day. His crowded courtroom caused a defendant to call the Brooksville fire chief, who declared the courtroom a fire hazard.

Hyslop said his scheduling works fine and that delays are uncommon and can be attributed to the higher caseload.

County judges preside over criminal traffic and misdemeanor cases and civil traffic infractions. They also handle civil suits that involve claims for less than $15,000. They are elected on a nonpartisan basis to four-year terms and earn $121,325 per year.

PEYTON B. HYSLOP, 51, is a longtime Hernando County resident who was born in Indianapolis. He was appointed county judge in 1989 and was elected in 1990, 1994 and 1998. He worked as a United Parcel Service driver, a cook, a janitor and a pool maintenance man before earning a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in 1983. Hyslop is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Brooksville, the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida and the Masonic lodge. He is married with one child.

ASSETS: residence, time share, farm equipment, livestock, savings.

LIABILITIES: mortgage, bank loans.

SOURCES OF INCOME: county judge salary and farm.

DONALD E. SCAGLIONE, 45, was born in Tampa and moved to Hernando County in 1990. Scaglione received his law degree from the South Texas College of Law in 1985 and worked as a substitute teacher before passing the Florida Bar exam. He works as a senior assistant state attorney in the Brooksville office with the homicide-special prosecution unit. He is an original member of the Teen/School Court Advisory Board and a former member of the Hernando County Corrections Committee and Substance Abuse Policy Advisory Board. He was a finalist for a circuit judge position in 1997 and 2003. He is married and has two children.

ASSETS: residence, mutual funds, stocks.

LIABILITIES: mortgage, bank loans.

SOURCES OF INCOME: State Attorney's Office salary, part-time teaching position at Pasco-Hernando Community College.