Richard A. Howard

• Graduated: 1975 University of South Florida/ Tampa, (BA) Criminal Justice Degree
• Graduated: 1978 (Dean\’s List) Stetson College of Law / St.Petersburg, (Juris Doctorate)

• State Attorney/ Sixth Circuit Pasco/ Pinellas – assigned to the Child Support Enforcement Unit in south St. Petersburg, 1978-1979
• Pasco County/Dade City assigned to criminal docket attaining status of Senior Trial Attorney, 1979-1985
• Transferred to Sumter County (Bushnell) Office, promoted to Division Supervisor for the Lake-Sumter County Offices. Responsible for Supervision of seven prosecutors and support staff of approximately 20 people, as well as all major cases, in the two counties. (1985-1988)
• Entered Private Practice with former Judge Jackson Brownlee handling Personal Injury, Criminal, and Domestic Relations (1988-1990)
• Established a practice with Brick, Davis, Marlowe and Howard in Brooksville, Florida (1990-1993)
• Established sole practice as Richard A. Howard PA (1993-2000)

• Appointed By Governor Jeb Bush in December 2000 formally sworn in on January 17th, 2001
• Initially assigned to the Family Law docket, which includes divorce, post-dissolution actions, custody, property disputes, and visitation as well as juvenile delinquency and dependency cases.
• Assigned to criminal docket (Felony) in November 2001.
• Qualified to handle Death Penalty cases
• Presided over approximately 300 jury trials, including the highly publicized murder case of John Evander Couey conducted in Miami, Florida February to March 2007.
• Part of a coordinated group effort to establish the Citrus County Mental Court which began receiving cases January 2008.
• Honored by the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency (FCCA) Chapter 27 (West Central Florida) with the prestigious Distinguished Service Award for Judicial service on August 18th, 2010.
• Awarded best judge in the 2021 annual best of the best reader’s choice contest Citrus County Chronicle.

• To maintain proficiency in the handling of my docket by continuing to attend Advanced Judicial Education courses.
• To maintain my status as a Death Penalty qualified judge.
• To continue to find ways to promptly administer justice, balanced against the guaranteed rights of the parties who appear before me.

Status Week Continuances

• ALL Continuances on a Status Week require a Joint Stipulation and Order to the Judges Office at least 3 days PRIOR to the Court date. Otherwise, to seek a continuance, the attorney or the covering attorney must be present in Court.

E-Filing/Motions/Orders

• Please do not include the Judge when you E-file your documents in the Portal. Although we are now E-filing some of our Orders, we do not wish to receive E-service documents from the portal. Any motions you would like the Judge to receive, should be E-mailed or mailed to the Judge.
• Most motions can be set directly through the State Attorney’s Office on the Motion calendar that I have given to the secretarial staff. Once it has been coordinated, they will then E-mail me what hearings have been set. If those dates and times are not sufficient, you can contact me and I will find other available times for you.
• Please make sure all Motions are filed PRIOR to setting them for a hearing.
• Please E-mail or mail any proposed orders to the Judge’s office as the Clerk does not forward them to the Judge.

Chamber Conferences

• These conferences are held prior to Court on status and motion weeks normally at 8:30 a.m. or 8:45 a.m, but must be “Scheduled” ahead of time. Please call me, and I will give you available times so you can coordinate with the State Attorney’s Office.