Hon. Daniel B. Merritt

Daniel B. Merritt Jr. is a judge serving the Citrus and Hernando counties as a member of Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit Court. Born in Sulphur, Louisiana, he grew up in Hernando County, Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Juris Doctor from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. Merritt began his legal career as a law clerk for his father at Merritt and Mason from 1988 to 1990, then practiced privately from 1997 until his election to the circuit court in 2006. He has also served as a volunteer judge for the Teen Court since 1992. Re-elected unopposed in 2012, he continues to preside over cases in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, with his current term set to expire in January 2019.