Winter Park circuit Judge Jeff Ashton, 66, elected to the bench in 2018, is seeking a second term on the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Group 15.

Ashton emerged from a three-way primary with 31 percent of the vote while Peyton garnered 48 percent. The two were the top vote-getters, but since neither reached the 50 percent threshold to win outright, they will face each other again in a Nov. 5 runoff.

The Ninth Judicial Circuit is the third largest circuit in the state, encompassing Orange and Osceola counties. It handles criminal cases and civil disputes that involve more than $50,000. Circuit court judges serve six years and earn $182,060 annually.

Early voting takes place daily Oct. 21-Nov. 3, 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. Check our list for locations. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 24. Mail-in ballots can be returned to any early voting location but must be received by the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Inappropriate conduct cited

Ashton, who has had a 43-year career in the legal profession, may best be known to voters as the prosecutor in the Casey Anthony trial and the first in the U.S. to get a conviction in a rape case with DNA evidence in 1988. He also served a single term as state attorney for the Ninth Circuit (2013-2017) before it was revealed that he had visited AshleyMadison, the site for married people to arrange to cheat. Even though, he denied meeting anyone, it cost him the election.

In early October, Ashton was notified that he is facing charges of judicial misconduct by the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC), the state disciplinary organization for judges.

In its Notice of Formal Charges, the JQC announced it found probable cause to institute formal proceedings against Ashton, for what it described as a “pattern of misconduct” in his courtroom that violated six canons of the Judicial Code of Conduct regarding impartiality, bias and upholding the integrity and independence of the court. The JQC also noted that it had warned Ashton previously about his “intemperate” behavior.

That conduct included shouting at attorneys in his courtroom, showing bias by signaling to one attorney during trial when to object and refusing to recuse himself from a case after a plaintiff requested a new judge because they did not believe they were getting a fair trial. The Sixth District Court of Appeals ultimately demanded Ashton recuse himself.

“Your repeated unwillingness or inability to govern your behavior raises questions about your fitness for judicial office, and the foregoing behavior constitutes inappropriate conduct,” the notice states.

Ashton was given 20 days from receiving the notice to respond.

Campaign funds questions

In addition, VoxPopuli has raised questions about whether campaign funds were used to replace Ashton’s returned qualifying fee check as required by election law.

Ashton’s original check for $7,646.52, dated April 25, submitted to the Division of Elections, to pay his qualifying fee, was returned by the bank for insufficient funds. Ashton was notified and then submitted a cashier’s check to the Division of Elections to replace it that was marked received on May 14.

Florida election law for nonpartisan races permits qualifying fee checks returned by a bank to be replaced with a cashier’s check, provided that campaign funds are used to purchase them.

Here’s where it gets sticky: Ashton’s campaign finance reports show a single campaign expenditure of $7,646.52 on April 19, 2024, notated for the qualifying fee. There is also a deposit of $7,845 on April 23, 2024. But there is no record of a purchase of a cashier’s check from May 13.

It’s possible this may simply be lackadaisical record keeping, but Ashton did not respond to questions from VoxPopuli left on his voice mail or sent by email, so it’s not possible to know.