Hon. Elijah Smiley

Elijah Smiley is a judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida, having been elected on September 5, 2006, and re-elected in 2012 and 2018. He served as chief judge from 2015 to 2019. Smiley earned bachelor’s degrees in Government and Accounting from Florida State University, an MBA from the University of West Florida, and a J.D. from the Florida State University School of Law. Prior to his judicial service, he worked as a managing attorney for Legal Service of North Florida, a staff attorney for Northwest Florida Legal Services, an Assistant Public Defender, and a private practice lawyer. He served on the Bay County Court from 1995 through 2006 before joining the circuit court in 2007.