Hon. John S. Kastrenakes

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<div class="infobox person"><div class="widget-row value-only ">John S. Kastrenakes</div>
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Florida 15th Circuit Court </div>
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<p> Education
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<p> University of Florida, 1977
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<p> University of Florida, 1980
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<div style="float:right; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0.4em; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; ;" class="toclimit-3"> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Education"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Education</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Career"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Career</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Elections"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Elections</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#2016"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">2016</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#2010"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">2010</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Noteworthy_events"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Noteworthy events</span></a>
<ul>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Judge_holds_juror_who_missed_trial_in_contempt_of_court"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Judge holds juror who missed trial in contempt of court</span></a></li>
</ul>
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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Footnotes"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Footnotes</span></a></li>
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<p><b>John S. Kastrenakes</b> is a judge of the <a href="/Florida_15th_Circuit_Court" title="Florida 15th Circuit Court">15th Judicial Circuit Court</a> in <a href="/Florida" title="Florida">Florida</a>. He was appointed by former Governor <a href="/Charlie_Crist" title="Charlie Crist">Charlie Crist</a> on <a href="/C2009#April" class="mw-redirect" title="C2009">April 29, 2009</a>, effective <a href="/C2009#June" class="mw-redirect" title="C2009">June 1</a>. He ran unopposed and was <a href="/Retention_election" title="Retention election">retained</a> to six-year terms in 2010 and <a href="/Florida_local_trial_court_judicial_elections,_2016" title="Florida local trial court judicial elections, 2016">2016</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-appointment_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-appointment-1">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-bio_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bio-2">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-candidates_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-candidates-3">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Education">Education</span></h2>
<p>Kastrenakes received his B.A. degree (in history) and his <a href="/J.D." class="mw-redirect" title="J.D.">J.D.</a> degree from the University of Florida in 1977 and 1980, respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-bio_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bio-2">[2]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Career">Career</span></h2>
<p>Kastrenakes began his career in 1981 as an assistant state attorney in Dade County. After a shot stint as an associate of <i>Goodhart and Rosner, P.A.</i> from 1984 to 1985, he returned to the State Attorney's office. He then became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in 1995. He held that position until his appointment to the circuit court in 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-bio_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bio-2">[2]</a></sup>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Elections">Elections</span></h2>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="2016">2016</span></h3>
<dl><dd><dl><dd><i>See also: <a href="/Florida_local_trial_court_judicial_elections,_2016" title="Florida local trial court judicial elections, 2016">Florida local trial court judicial elections, 2016</a></i></dd></dl></dd></dl>
<p>Kastrenakes won re-election without opposition in 2016.
</p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="2010">2010</span></h3>
<p>Kastrenakes ran unopposed and was automatically <a href="/Retention_election" title="Retention election">retained</a> to a new term.<sup id="cite_ref-candidates_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-candidates-3">[3]</a></sup>
</p>
<dl><dd><i>Main article: <a href="/Florida_judicial_elections,_2010" title="Florida judicial elections, 2010">Florida judicial elections, 2010</a></i></dd></dl>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Noteworthy_events">Noteworthy events</span></h2>
<h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Judge_holds_juror_who_missed_trial_in_contempt_of_court">Judge holds juror who missed trial in contempt of court</span></h3>
<p>Judge Kastrenakes held a man in contempt of court, giving him a 10-day jail sentence and a year on probation after he slept in and missed his jury duty. Following his jail time, Deandre Somerville appeared at a hearing on October 4, 2019, during which Judge Kastrenakes reduced his probation sentence to three months and his community service hours from 150 to 30 after Somerville's lawyer appealed. The judge also removed the contempt from Somerville's record following the hearing.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup>
</p><p>“I firmly believe that Deandre Somerville is the type of person who can achieve anything he wants in this world. I know he now understands and respects our system of justice and the critical role jurors play in that system. In conclusion, I do not want even a finding of contempt to be gleaned from a perusal of his background or record,” wrote Kastrenakes.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup>
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<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://15thcircuit.co.palm-beach.fl.us/web/guest/judges">15th Judicial Circuit of Florida: Judges</a></li></ul>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Footnotes">Footnotes</span></h2>
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<li id="cite_note-appointment-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-appointment_1-0" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up">?</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://www.americantowns.com/fl/tallahassee/news/governor-crist-appoints-meenu-sasser-and-john-s-kastrenakes-to-15th-judicial-circuit-court-184089"><i>American Towns.com: Tallahassee</i>, "Governor Crist Appoints Meenu Sasser and John S. Kastrenakes to 15th Judicial Circuit Court," April 30, 2009</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-bio-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">? ^{<a href="#cite_ref-bio_2-0"><span class="cite-accessibility-label">Jump up to: </span>2.0</a>} ^{<a href="#cite_ref-bio_2-1">2.1</a>} ^{<a href="#cite_ref-bio_2-2">2.2</a>}</span> <span class="reference-text"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://15thcircuit.co.palm-beach.fl.us:8080/web/guest/kastrenakes/bio"><i>15th Judicial Circuit</i>, "John Kastrenakes biography"</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-candidates-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">? ^{<a href="#cite_ref-candidates_3-0"><span class="cite-accessibility-label">Jump up to: </span>3.0</a>} ^{<a href="#cite_ref-candidates_3-1">3.1</a>}</span> <span class="reference-text"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/CanDetail.asp?account=51270"><i>Florida Division of Elections</i>, "John S. Kastrenakes, 2010"</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up">?</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/Judicial_selection_in_Florida" title="Judicial selection in Florida">Judicial selection in Florida</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up">?</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/08/deandre-somerville-record-erased-backlash-jury-duty/"><i>The Washington Post,</i> "He got 10 days in jail for missing jury duty. After national backlash, a judge erased his record." October 8, 2019</a></span>
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<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6" aria-label="Jump up" title="Jump up">?</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/us/florida-man-jury-duty.html"><i>The New York Times,</i> "He Served 10 Days in Jail for Missing Jury Duty. Now the Judge Has Cleared His Record." October 8, 2019</a></span>
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