Jim Rosica
Gov. Rick Scott has elevated a Leon County judge and top state official under former Gov. Charlie Crist to be the Tallahassee area’s newest circuit judge.
Scott on Monday appointed Robert R. Wheeler to a vacancy on the 2nd Judicial Circuit bench. Wheeler replaces former Judge Frank Sheffield.
“Throughout his career, Judge Wheeler has proven to be a good steward for Florida families,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to his continued service.”
Wheeler, 52, of Tallahassee, has been a county judge since 2010, according to a news release. Before that, he was general counsel to Crist in 2009-10 and assistant general counsel in 2007-09.
Wheeler also was senior assistant attorney general and bureau chief for criminal appeals from 2003-2006 when Crist was the state’s attorney general.
Wheeler was an assistant attorney general from 1998-2003 and was in private practice in the early 1990s.
He received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Florida.
The 2nd Circuit is headquartered in Tallahassee and covers the north Florida counties of Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla.
Among their many duties, circuit judges may handle felonies, civil matters worth more than $15,000, juvenile and estate cases.
