County Judges Chris Miller of Daytona Beach and Jack Schlechter of Niceville are getting promotions, courtesy of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis appointed Miller, who has served as a Volusia County Judge since 2018, to the 7th Judicial Circuit Court spanning the east-central Florida counties of Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia.
The Governor also named Schlechter, an Okaloosa County Judge since 2022, to the 1st Judicial Circuit Court, which covers the northwest Panhandle counties of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton.
Miller, an ex-prosecutor for the 7th Judicial Circuit, succeeds former Judge Terence Perkins, who resigned on Sept. 30 after 14 years on the bench.
Miller earned his Juris Doctor from Stetson University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. During his time with the State Attorney’s Office, he worked in the drug, career criminal and homicide units. He also worked for a private law firm litigating insurance claims.
Schlechter, who previously worked as a lawyer at the AnchorsGordon law firm in Fort Walton Beach, fills a vacancy Gary Bergosh created on the 1st Judicial Circuit bench by stepping down on Sept. 22.
Bergosh, a former U.S. Marine, has since taken an attorney instructor job with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Schlechter holds a Juris Doctor from Florida Coast School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. When DeSantis named him to the Okaloosa bench in January 2022, Schlechter called the appointment “a career goal.”
The Governor’s Office announced the appointments Monday without comment from DeSantis.
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