Florida Forms of Jury Instruction

James M. Barton, II (Editor/Reviewer)

The Honorable James M. Barton, II serves as Circuit Court Judge, Civil Division, Hillsborough County, Florida. He received his undergraduate degree from Tulane University in Louisiana and attended Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, where he received his law degree. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Barton clerked with the First District Court of Appeal, served in the Anti-Racketeering section of the Florida Attorney General’s office and worked as an attorney in private practice in Pensacola. Judge Barton followed his father, a Federal Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, into service on the bench and was elected County Judge in 1991 and later appointed Circuit Judge in 1999. One of Judge Barton’s most significant contributions to the Florida judicial system, apart from his role on the bench, was serving as Vice-Chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. Working tirelessly for nearly a decade with his fellow Committee members, Judge Barton is responsible for helping improve and streamline standard jury instructions in civil cases. The reorganization and revision of the standard jury instructions is of great importance to Judge Barton as it has facilitated a greater understanding for lay people of the judicial process and their role as a juror. In addition to his work on the Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases, Judge Barton formerly served as chair of both the Supreme Court of Florida’s Pro Bono Task Force and the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee. He is a member of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Committee on Professionalism and the Hillsborough County Bar Association.