Candidate Profile: Mikaela Nix

Circuit Judge Mikaela Nix hopes voters will remember the five and a half years she’s spent on the bench when they vote. She’s running for re-election to hold her seat in Group 1 on the Ninth Circuit Court, which serves both Orange and Osceola counties. 

Nix had made a run for the Florida House in District 47 in 2018, but lost in the Republican Primary before being elected to the Ninth Circuit Court in 2020. She presided over the Osceola County Criminal Court from 2021 to 2022 and moved to the Orange County Domestic Relations Court in 2023 where she’s been hearing family law and domestic violence cases ever since. Prior to joining the bench, Nix ran a private practice where she focused on fathers’ rights in divorce, custody and child support cases. Nix has also worked as an adjunct professor at Seminole State College and Valencia Community College and is a Florida Supreme Court Family Court Certified Mediator. 

The Federalist Society member is now being challenged by fellow Republican and former chair of the Orange County Republican Party Charles C. Hart II and private practice attorney Temika Hampton-Johnson. The Aug. 18 election is nonpartisan. Circuit Court judges serve six-year terms and earn $200,836 annually.

“I believe that the six-year term is because we want to keep those experienced judges on the bench,” the Apopka mom of two said in a recent interview. 

Nix’s candidacy has not been without controversy. An opposition website that accuses Nix of corruption, ineptitude and massive personal debt keeps popping up under new URLs almost as quickly as Nix and her legal team shut them down. Though Nix dismissed the site as "nothing more than a smear tactic,” VoxPopuli found twice as much debt in Nix’s financial disclosure forms as referenced on the website — about $1.2 million, including three mortgages and student loans. Nix disputes that her home is in foreclosure. But a case was opened in the Ninth Circuit Court; then it moved to the Tenth Circuit and the files sealed. 

“I think that there should be a reason why a judge is removed, and I have not found any reason that I can see that would discredit me as a judge,” Nix said. “I believe that it is important to re-elect and keep those judges on the bench who are in the community, and I think that I am one of those.”

Here, Nix answers questions from the News Collaborative of Central Florida.

1. What professional experiences have best prepared you for the bench?

As a Ninth Circuit judge for nearly six years, I bring a unique combination of professional experience, character, leadership, and perspective to the bench. I understand how the law operates in practice, having worked with diverse individuals across varied circumstances. I am deeply committed to ethical conduct, maintaining integrity, impartiality, and treating everyone with fairness and dignity. Recognizing that courtrooms are emotional environments, I make difficult decisions calmly and respectfully. I have a passion for law and justice, a commitment to community service, and the temperament necessary to be an effective judge. As one of the first African American women to win a contested judicial race in the Ninth Circuit, I believe judicial independence is essential to justice and democracy.

At my core, I have an unwavering commitment to justice, fairness, and the rule of law. While a law degree opens the door to judiciary, it is character, wisdom, discipline, and dedication to service that determine fitness for the bench. I am committed to serving Orange and Osceola County residents with integrity and compassion, as I often encounter people during their most challenging moments. No defining moment in my courtroom should be handled with anything less than complete dignity, respect, and compassion, regardless of the outcome.

A lawyer knows the law and how to apply it. A judge must know not only the law but also people, principles, human nature, and fairness.

2. What role should personal values play in judicial decision making?

Judicial decisions should be guided primarily, fundamentally, and consistently by the law itself, rather than by the judges' personal values, beliefs, moral convictions, political ideologies, or individual preferences and inclinations. This critically important principle and foundational concept of judicial independence can be effectively and reliably accomplished by deciding cases based on the best available evidence presented during proceedings, careful and thorough assessment of witness credibility and reliability, well-established constitutional principles and frameworks that have been developed over time, and both the mandatory and persuasive precedent that has been set by previous court decisions at various levels of the judicial system. Personal values, individual biases, subjective opinions, preconceived notions, and external pressures should not play any role whatsoever in judicial decision-making processes or influence the outcomes of cases in any manner.

The judiciary must maintain strict objectivity in their analysis and reasoning, demonstrate complete impartiality in their considerations and deliberations, and ensure fair, equal, and consistent treatment to all parties who come before the court, regardless of their background, status, or circumstances. This commitment to neutrality and adherence to legal principles serves as the cornerstone of public trust and confidence in the judicial system and helps preserve the integrity and legitimacy of the rule of law in our society.  

3.  How do you balance precedent with evolving societal standards?

The legal system balances precedent with evolving societal standards through a concept known as flexible stare decisis, which allows courts to follow past rulings while leaving room to adapt to modern realities.

That question strikes at the very heart of judicial philosophy and the tension inherent in maintaining a stable legal framework while acknowledging the dynamic nature of our society. My approach is rooted in the fundamental principle that judicial decisions must be guided primarily, fundamentally, and consistently by the law itself, rather than by personal values or subjective inclinations. Precedent, or *stare decisis*, is not merely a suggestion; it is the cornerstone of judicial independence and the rule of law, ensuring predictability and fairness.

However, precedent is not static. It is interpreted through the lens of established constitutional principles and frameworks that have developed over time. When societal standards evolve, the role of the judiciary is not to unilaterally impose new moral codes, but rather to assess whether the existing legal precedent remains consistent with the foundational, enduring constitutional structures. This involves careful and thorough assessment of the established law, mandatory and persuasive precedent, and ensuring that any application remains strictly objective and impartial. The law must be applied to the facts presented, with complete dignity, respect, and compassion for all parties, recognizing that wisdom and character, not mere preference, determine fitness for the bench.

4.  What steps do you take to avoid conflicts of interest?

To avoid conflict and maintain harmonious interactions in both my personal and professional life, I make it a priority to consistently follow the Laws of Impeccable Communications:

Be mindful of your attitude. Communicate openly, clearly, and honestly, expressing your thoughts and feelings in a straightforward manner that leaves no room for misunderstanding or confusion.

Treat the person with respect, dignity, and consideration regardless of the situation. Watch the tone of your voice to ensure it conveys the right message and doesn't inadvertently escalate tensions.

Be compassionate and patient, understanding that everyone has their own struggles and perspectives that shape how they see the world and respond to different situations. Despite our best efforts and intentions to the contrary, you are sometimes forced to deal with challenging relationships and difficult people. As challenging as it is, dealing with a difficult person can be a valuable learning experience.

5.  What barriers to justice do you see in the current system, and how would you address them?

The persistent and deeply concerning problem of overcrowded court dockets and the resulting significant delays in the administration of justice can be meaningfully and effectively addressed through several carefully considered strategic interventions and reforms, including substantially increasing the number of qualified judges and judicial officers to handle the ever-growing case volumes more efficiently and expeditiously, significantly expanding the availability and widespread use of virtual hearings, remote proceedings, and digital courtroom technologies to improve accessibility for all parties and reduce scheduling conflicts and logistical barriers, implementing and deploying upgraded and sophisticated case management software systems along with comprehensive and ongoing training programs for all court personnel and administrative staff to ensure proper utilization, establishing specialized fast-track divisions and dedicated courtrooms specifically designed to handle certain case types and categories more expeditiously and with greater focus, and hiring additional qualified and certified interpreters to adequately serve the diverse and expanding linguistic needs of participants in civil litigation, family law proceedings, probate matters, and other judicial processes.