NOV. 3 VOTER GUIDE | Fifth District Court of Appeal judge retention

The Fifth District Court of Appeal reviews decisions made by lower courts in the Jacksonville area and part of Central Florida. Its judges hear appeals involving criminal cases, civil matters and other legal disputes.

Voters don’t pick the judges who sit on the appellate court bench, but they do get a say in whether those judges keep their jobs. On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to keep three of the Fifth District judges through the nonpartisan process known as merit retention. Judges up for retention are prohibited from most political activities and are limited in what they can say on their own behalf during election season. This guide is based on court records and news reports.

If a judge is not retained, Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint a new one.

Fifth District Court of Appeal judges up for retention in 2026

John M. Harris

Appointment: Judge John M. Harris was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal by Gov. Rick Scott in July 2018. 

Key rulings: This year Harris joined a ruling saying that police violated the Fourth Amendment when they prolonged a traffic stop; evidence gathered as a result was inadmissible. Harris wrote a 2025 opinion finding that multiple convictions stemming from the same DUI case violated protections against double jeopardy. In 2020, Harris joined a ruling holding that police can’t make suspects reveal cell phone passcodes because that could amount to self-incrimination. 

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Scott D. Makar

Appointment: Judge Scott Makar was appointed to the First District Court of Appeal by Gov. Rick Scott in 2012, and recommissioned to the Fifth District Court of Appeal by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. 

Key rulings: This year Makar wrote a ruling siding with Nassau County and a developer in a fight over 51 acres of oceanfront property on Amelia Island. The court found that neighbors opposing the project couldn’t use a settlement between the county and the developer to challenge the project. In 2025, Makar partially dissented from a ruling involving Florida’s requirement that some driver’s licenses identify holders as sexual predators, saying the practice violated protections against compelled speech. Makar agreed with a 2022 ruling denying a 16-year-old’s request for an abortion without parental permission, but said she should be allowed to return to the lower court for further consideration. 

F. Rand Wallis

Appointment: Judge F. Rand Wallis was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal by Gov. Rick Scott in 2013. 

Key rulings: Last year Wallis joined a dissent, arguing Florida’s requirement that certain driver’s licenses mark the holder as a sexual predator was unconstitutional. In 2024 he upheld the Florida Gaming Control Commission’s rule prohibiting cardroom employees from playing poker at their own workplaces. That same year he wrote a ruling giving a defendant another chance to challenge his criminal sentence because his written sentence was longer than the one announced by the judge in court.