Attorney challenges incumbent for circuit judge seat
Circuit Judge Vincent Chiu faces a challenge from Orlando civil attorney Aldo Bartolone as he seeks to keep his seat on the bench in Group 44 for Orange and Osceola counties.
Chiu, 43, was appointed to the role in 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis after serving 12 years as a federal prosecutor in the Middle District of Florida. While an assistant U.S. attorney in the Orlando division, Chiu said he was the primary prosecutor on a Joint Terrorism Task Force team that investigated the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting and threats against Jewish institutions across Central Florida.
“As judge, I’ve served in the family division for a little over two years, and I have served in the civil division since January of this year,” Chiu said. “I have the widespread support of the [Family Law Section of the Florida Bar] and I was actually recently in a ranking of 54 judges by the Central Florida Trial Lawyers Association ... I ranked third in that survey.”
Bartolone, 48, started his 23-year law career as an assistant public defender in South Florida before leaving to work for an insurance defense firm where he defended personal injury claims like auto accidents, medical malpractice and product liability. After moving to Orlando in 2005, Bartolone said he worked for a firm that focused on commercial, real estate and bankruptcy litigation before opening his own practice in 2008.
“I really dedicated my practice to representing individuals, families and small businesses in all aspects of litigation,” he said. “... I’ve represented over 1,000 individuals, families and small businesses in Central Florida.”
As a judge, Bartolone said he would work on making cases run more smoothly for litigants by being more readily available for hearings and by providing an “equal” process for everybody.
“There has to be fair and due process to everybody, no matter where they come from — everything from the corporations that can hire Goliath law firms to the ... litigant who doesn’t have enough money to hire an attorney,” he said. “Due process is not a one size fits all.”
The attorney described himself as a “very low-key type of guy.”
“Nothing rattles my cage,” Bartolone said. Chiu said his endorsements show he has a reputation for being fair, even-tempered, kind and empathetic as a judge.
“While judges have to follow the law and give people predictability, I also think there’s a reason we have people doing it and not robots,” he said.
The judge described his judicial philosophy as “less philosophy and more method.”
“I look at what the law is,” Chiu said. “I look at what the facts are. I consciously
work to set aside whatever I think my own predispositions and beliefs are. I listen to the parties.”
Chiu said his experience on the bench sets him apart from his opponent, pointing to his handling of high-interest cases like the decision upholding Orange County’s sales ban on puppies or the order permanently blocking local authorities from releasing photos and videos of comedian Bob Saget’s body.
“I’ve tried a lot of cases at a very high level,” he said. “I’m used to ... the quick calls that have to get made during a jury trial. By contrast, my opponent has practiced primarily bankruptcy law for the past 15 years, which is largely transactional and does not involve juries.”
Bartolone said he would be a better choice than the incumbent judge because of the diversity of his experience — from criminal law to business litigation to bankruptcy matters. Chiu has “limited experience,” he said.
“He spent his entire career as a prosecutor — not that that’s bad, but it’s a very limited experience,” he said. “It’s important that a judge has a level of empathy. In order to have that empathy, you learn that from your clients. You learn that from standing shoulder to shoulder with them in a courtroom, getting in the trenches with them [and] being accountable to the client, their families, their businesses, their employees.”
Early voting in Orange and Osceola starts Aug. 8 and ends Aug. 21. The primary is Aug. 23.