Kraynick, Apte, Nix and Falcone for Orange-Osceola circuit judge

Circuit court judges wield enormous power. They oversee trials that determine whether a person is deprived of their freedom — even their life — and make decisions that have financial implications for people and business.

Their role is arguably more consequential than that of most other elected officials, yet voters often cast ballots knowing little about the qualifications of candidates running for circuit judge, which has a six-year term of office.

The Orlando Sentinel interviewed the candidates running for judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit — which covers Orange and Osceola counties — and reviewed their backgrounds. Here are our endorsements for circuit judge:

Kraynick did, too.

In the five years before he was appointed, Kraynick had zero experience in criminal or family law. Nevertheless, he now has nearly a year of circuit court experience under his belt, and that should count for something as the courts try to untangle the backlog of cases resulting from the pandemic and the resulting shutdown of many court functions, including jury trials.

If Singh had a wider range of legal experience, she might make a better case for unseating Kraynick. She also has some potential baggage in the form of a whistleblower complaint filed against her father, Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh. In it, Amrita Singh is said to have run a charity that was a “sham” designed to raise money for her father’s political campaign. She denied that allegation, but the complaint is active, and a reason for concern.

There’s no compelling reason for unseating Kraynick. He should get another term. her passion and her work ethic, and she has a compelling personal story as well. Those are all admirable qualities. But her legal expertise is real estate, with a smattering of experience in other areas. Criminal law would be new to her.

Apte has served well, and his experience is needed to deal with the demands of a court system clogged with cases because of the pandemic shutdown. Voters should elect him to another term.

Two candidates are running to replace Judge John Marshall Kest, who is not seeking re-election — attorneys Rhiannon Arnold and Mikaela Nix.

Both have their own law firms in Orlando, both have experience inside the courtroom and both have fairly wellrounded areas of expertise.

But neither articulated a persuasive case for why they wanted to take on the responsibilities of a circuit judge, why they belonged on the bench or their philosophy for administering justice.

We found Nix the more compelling candidate, in part because of her roots in Florida and her experience in family law. Her election also would provide some badly needed racial diversity to the circuit’s bench.

We think Nix is the better choice.

Two experienced lawyers are looking to replace Circuit Judge Jon B. Morgan, who is not seeking re-election.

Vincent Falcone is an Orlando lawyer who specializes in commercial disputes. Mark Van Valkenburgh is a mediator in Winter Park who handles commercial, real estate and employment disputes.

Like some of the other candidates running for judge in this district, they seem like competent lawyers, though their experience is not ideally suited to the wide range of legal matters a circuit judge must hear, especially considering the volume of work a judge is likely to face in the coming year. We liked parts of Falcone’s resume, notably his advocacy of the League of Women Voters case forcing state lawmakers to stop gerrymandering political districts. That says something about his sense of justice. This is a close one, but voters should choose Falcone.