Public Defender and Prosecutor Advance to November Runoff for Duval County Judge Seat

A prosecutor with Duval County's State Attorney's Office and a veteran public defender will compete in a November runoff election for a county judge seat after a three-way race in Tuesday's primary prevented either from securing an outright majority.

Octavius Holliday, director of the human rights division under State Attorney Melissa Nelson, took 37% of the vote, while Melina Buncome, director of Problem Solving Courts in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, earned 33%. Marquita Green, a magistrate in Duval County, received the remainder and will not advance to the Nov. 3 general election runoff for the County Court Group 13 seat.

What's happening

The judicial seat opened after Judge Mose Floyd retired from Duval County Court Group 13. County courts in Florida serve as the "people's courts" — limited jurisdiction benches that handle misdemeanor criminal cases, civil disputes under $30,000, traffic violations, small claims, evictions, and preliminary hearings for felony cases before they advance to circuit court.

Holliday has worked as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and in family law and civil practice. At the State Attorney's Office, his caseload focuses primarily on elder abuse and exploitation cases, and he serves on both grand jury and officer-involved shooting review panels. He is active with 100 Black Men of America and serves as president of the local Theta Phi chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Buncome has served as a public defender since 1997 and currently directs the Problem Solving Courts in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, overseeing mental health court, veterans treatment court, and adult drug court programs across Nassau, Clay, and Duval counties. Her public-defense caseload has ranged from homicide to misdemeanor juvenile matters, and she previously maintained a private civil-law practice. She has received the Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award.

What the runoff means for Duval's court system

County court judges handle the largest volume of cases in Florida's judicial system — the frontline disputes, traffic citations, domestic violence misdemeanors, and small-claims matters that bring most residents into contact with the courts. In Jacksonville and Duval County, the county court sits below the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court (which hears felonies, larger civil suits, and family law) but processes far more cases annually.

The Group 13 seat is one of more than a dozen county judgeships in Duval. Judicial races are nonpartisan in Florida, and county judges serve six-year terms. The winner of the November runoff will join a bench that manages courtroom dockets, sets bond, issues injunctions, presides over misdemeanor trials, and determines sentences within statutory guidelines.

Judges also assign cases to problem-solving courts — specialized dockets like drug court, mental health court, and veterans court that Buncome currently administers. Those alternative programs allow defendants with substance-use disorders, PTSD, or serious mental illness to receive treatment and supervision instead of incarceration for qualifying offenses. Expansion or modification of those dockets typically involves coordination among judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and treatment providers.

How the candidates' backgrounds shape the race

The matchup presents voters with contrasting career paths in the criminal-justice system. Holliday brings prosecutorial experience and a focus on elder-exploitation cases — a growing category as Northeast Florida's population ages and retirement communities expand in St. Johns, Clay, and Nassau counties. Prosecutors in county court handle misdemeanor charges, from DUI and battery to theft and trespass, and make charging and plea-bargain decisions that determine whether cases proceed to trial.

Buncome's nearly three decades as a public defender and her leadership of problem-solving courts emphasize the defense perspective and alternatives to traditional prosecution. Public defenders represent defendants who cannot afford private counsel — the majority of criminal defendants in county court — and advocates for those programs often argue they reduce recidivism and jail costs more effectively than short incarceration sentences for low-level offenses.

Both candidates have handled cases across criminal and civil law. In county court, judges routinely move between a morning criminal docket and an afternoon small-claims or eviction calendar, so breadth of experience is a practical asset. Holliday's private civil and family-law work and Buncome's civil practice both provide background in the non-criminal disputes that fill a significant portion of the county court's workload.

Neither candidate secured the 50%-plus-one majority required to win outright in the primary, making the November runoff a head-to-head contest that will likely turn on voter turnout in a general election expected to draw higher participation than the August primary.

What voters will decide

Judicial elections in Florida ask voters to assess candidates' qualifications, temperament, and judicial philosophy without the party labels that guide most races. The Florida Bar evaluates judicial candidates and often issues recommendations, though those endorsements are advisory. Voters typically weigh factors such as trial experience, community involvement, and courtroom demeanor — qualities tested in forums, editorial-board interviews, and campaign appearances between now and November.

The candidates' campaign messages will likely emphasize their respective justice-system roles. Prosecutors often highlight public safety and accountability for offenders, while public defenders stress constitutional protections, fairness, and rehabilitation. How each candidate frames the balance between those values — and their vision for managing a high-volume county court docket — will define the two-month runoff campaign.

For Duval County residents, the outcome determines who will preside over cases that directly affect daily life: the neighbor dispute that lands in small claims, the DUI arrest, the eviction proceeding, the misdemeanor domestic battery charge. County court judges have wide discretion in sentencing, bond amounts, and case management, and their decisions shape thousands of lives each year with less appellate scrutiny than circuit-court rulings receive.

What happens next

The general election runoff is set for Nov. 3, 2026. Early voting periods and vote-by-mail deadlines will be announced by the Duval County Supervisor of Elections in the coming weeks. Judicial candidates in Florida are subject to campaign-finance and conduct rules overseen by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, and both candidates will continue fundraising and voter outreach through the fall.

Campaign-finance reports due before the election will show which legal, business, and community groups are supporting each candidate — often a window into how different constituencies view the race. Judicial candidates may not personally solicit campaign funds under Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct, but campaign committees raise money on their behalf.

The November ballot will also include federal, state legislative, and local races, likely driving higher turnout than the August primary and potentially changing the electorate that decides the judicial contest. Voter guides, candidate forums hosted by bar associations and civic groups, and editorial endorsements typically emerge in the final weeks before a judicial runoff, giving voters additional information to assess the candidates' readiness for the bench.

The winner will be sworn in to a six-year term and join Duval County's judiciary at a time when the region's growth is straining court capacity. Duval's caseloads have climbed alongside population increases, and the county court system processes tens of thousands of cases annually. The new judge will inherit dockets shaped by Jacksonville's ongoing challenges with violent crime, homelessness, mental health crises, and the legacy of the opioid epidemic — all of which flow through the misdemeanor and problem-solving court system where this judicial seat will make a difference in how justice is administered day to day.