Circuit judges elect new chief

Judge David A. Demers replaces Judge Susan Schaeffer, who is stepping down from the post after six years.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001

For the first time in six years, the Pinellas-Pasco judicial circuit will be getting a new chief judge.

Circuit Judge David A. Demers was elected chief judge of the circuit in a vote by his colleagues late Tuesday. He begins a two-year term July 1, replacing Judge Susan Schaeffer, who held the post six years.

Schaeffer, 58, who is the longest-serving chief judge in circuit history, will continue serving as a circuit judge in the civil division until her scheduled retirement in 2004.

"I think it's a great opportunity," Demers said Wednesday. "I think Judge Schaeffer has done a wonderful job for six years. This is a chance to serve my fellow judges and to provide service to the community."

Schaeffer had months ago announced that she wanted to end her tenure as chief judge. The race to replace her involved just Demers and Circuit Judge Ray Ulmer.

Schaeffer declined to announce the vote split between the two. But once Demers won the election, Ulmer recommended to his colleagues that they make the vote unanimous, and they did.

Demers, 54, was a county judge for 13 years before Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed him to the circuit bench in 1994.

The last trial Demers presided over on the county bench is probably the case he is best remembered for -- the misdemeanor battery trial of former U.S. Attorney Bob Merkle. Merkle was acquitting of punching a Largo resident in a traffic altercation.

Demers (pronounced De-MURS) is a 1971 graduate of the Stetson University College of Law, where Schaeffer also earned her law degree.

Since his circuit appointment, Demers has consistently received among the highest ratings in polls of lawyers evaluating his work and demeanor on the bench.

Schaeffer said administrative duties as chief judge have kept her out of the courtroom more than she likes, and that is the primary reason she wants to step down as chief judge.

"I pride myself on being a fairly good courtroom judge, and I miss being in the courtroom more than I am," she said. "Frankly, I'm looking forward to letting someone else handle the administration of such a large circuit. It's a very big job. Judge Demers is a wonderful choice, and he'll do a fine job."

Schaeffer is considered an expert on death penalty law and is, like Demers, highly rated by the lawyers who appear before her.

The chief judge's post is mostly an administrative and budgetary one. The chief judge, who receives no extra pay on the annual $130,000 salary, also assigns judges to various courthouse divisions, from criminal to civil and probate.

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