Jesse Scheckner
Two years after he was appointed to the bench, Polk County Judge Brandon Rafool is headed for higher ground.
Gov. Ron DeSantis named Rafool, who since 2021 has presided over county civic and election cases, to the 10th Judicial Circuit Court.
He will replace Judge Larry Helms, whom state law required to retire when he turned 75 in late March.
Since taking office in 2015, Helms served in both the civil and felony division of the 10th Judicial Circuit, which covers Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties. He told the Lakeland Ledger he plans to apply to be a senior Judge after he finishes a mandated one-year absence from state employment.
Rafool was one of 13 people who applied to fill the vacancy by early April. Others included Polk Assistant State Attorneys Victoria Avalon and Rachelle Williams; County Court Judge Kevin Kohl; and Assistant Public Defenders Ruth Knight and Tara Wheat.
The Judicial Nominating Commission for the 10th Circuit then recommended five candidates for the job: Rafool, Kohl and local lawyers Anne Gibson, Jennifer Steimle and John C. Waters.
DeSantis ultimately selected Rafool, whom he first appointed to the Polk County Court in September 2021. Rafool got that job following the vacancy created when the Governor elevated Judge Lori Winstead to the 10th Judicial Circuit.
Prior to his judgeship, Rafool ran The Rafool Firm, a private legal practice in Winter Haven that the Florida Division of Corporations lists as still active. He opened the firm in 2002, a decade into his career as a litigator.
Rafool holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor from Stetson University. His Twitter account, which contains fewer than 20 posts and hasn’t been updated since Oct. 2, 2020, includes retweets of posts by and supporting former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, former First Lady Barbara Bush and Polk and Orange Sheriff’s Offices.
