Meet The Candidate with Temika Hampton-Johnson for Florida 9th Circuit Court Judge

Meet Temika Hampton-Johnson running for Florida 9th Circuit Court Judge and learn what she wants you to know about her before the election.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi. This Judy Copier and I am the market president
here in Central Florida and today is Meet the Canadas.
We are talking to Tamika Hampton Johnson, who is running
for the Florida's ninth Circuit Court judge.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
It's so nice to have you here. Thank you for
having me, so please introduce yourself, give us a little
bit of background. Who you are.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Okay, as she said, my name is Tamika Hampton Johnson.
I'm running for a Circuit Court judge Group one, ninth Circuit,
which is all of Orange and Osceola County. So if
you live anywhere in those two counties, I will be
on your ballot regardless of party affiliation, or if you
have no party affiliation, I will be on your ballot.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
On August eighteenth.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
A little about me is I started my professional career
as a military police officer in the United States Army Reserves,
Thank you, and that afforded me the opportunity to attend
Stetson University, where I obtained my bachelor's and my NBA.
I took a little break to live life and take
care of my children, and then I went to law

(01:02):
school at the age of thirty so my career has
not been linear. However, it's been very practical and it's
been very much necessary for this journey. I started my
legal career as an assistant public defender in the second
Judicial Circuit, which is Leon County. Primarily, my legal background

(01:23):
is in labor and employment law, where I've worked here
with the Orange County Public School Union, so both the
Orange County Class from Teachers Association where I served as
a staff attorney and uniser director, and then with Orange
Education Support Professional, which is the support staff for Orange
County Public School I served as the general counsel and
chief Negotiator. I am currently a Florida Supreme Court certified

(01:46):
family law and Circuit civil mediator, which is primarily what
I'm doing during the campaign season just because it allows
me to control my schedule a little bit more So,
I have a very diverse background. I think it's extremely
helpful and a benefit and running for judge.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
So what prompted you to run for this office?

Speaker 2 (02:05):
You know, there are a number of things.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
This was one of those childhood dreams I can remember
as a five year old taking a trip to the courthouse.
Because I grew up in a little town called Stark Florida,
which most people know for all, it's called for Old
Sparky for the electric chair. That's what it's most famously
known for. The number one employer there is the Florida
Department of Corrections. So the saying was you either work
for the prison or you go to prison when you're older.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
You know, thanks to my family and faith.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
There were some other plans, which I've already told you about.
But I remember going to the courthouse on the field
trip and there was a judge there who the way
he ran his courtroom was so different than the other judges,
and so that started it. But what really triggered it
was going through the process of adopting my sons. And
even with a master's degree from Stetson, it was so

(02:53):
complicated trying to navigate the judicial system, just not understanding
the process, what needed to be about, how to move
about the system. And when case my case first started,
I had to judge that didn't quite take the oath
as seriously. You know, there were personal opinions that were
expressed during it. But fortunately we were transferred to another

(03:15):
judge who handled the situation with care. You know, we
were treated with dignity, and respect through the process and
able to navigate and help me learn to navigate that process.
And I just remember it reignited that childhood dream and
I said, I'm going to be a judge. And in
order to be a judge, you have to be a
lawyer first. So then at thirty I started law school.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
So, is there anything particular in your past experience that
you feel really put you in the right position to
be running for this, to be running for a circuit court.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Honestly, I think my entire career, I think the diversity
is what sets me apart from the others.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Like I said, serving as a military police officer, I've
enforced the law.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Serving as a probation and parole officer, I've supervised a
returning citizens, and being an assistant public defender, I've defended
those who were charged with criminal offenses but could not
afford representation. So I've seen all sides of the system
there and beyond that, my diverse career with labor and employment,

(04:17):
family law, probate guardianship are all extremely beneficial because when
you become a judge, you don't pick where you're going
to serve the chief judge of science. You may be
in civil court, you may be in criminal, you may
be in family, you may be in probate. So I
have experience in all those areas, so I would be

(04:37):
ready to start.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Right from the beginning.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
You know, a smaller learning curve than most, And I
think that's what really sets me apart.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
That's the thing, very good.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
What do you think is the most important issue facing
our community and how would you address it?

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Accessibility to the court.

Speaker 3 (04:58):
You know, as I said, as someone who is considered
highly educated, just learning to navigate the system. Even I
couldn't figure it out. And so the accessibility factor is
concerning because most individuals who go to court can't afford
a lawyer, so they come in pro se, they represent themselves,
and so how can we make the process a little

(05:18):
easier so that they're able to understand what's happening and
navigate the system.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Understanding that as a judge you can't advocate for.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Individuals that you can make sure they're aware of what
resources are available, provide them with those alternatives. Now, if
they choose to proceed, you know pro se, we must
continue to move forward and treat them as if there
were a lawyer. Those are the rules but that accessibility
factor of just understanding and also just simply accessibility in
the fact of being able to attend court, you know,

(05:49):
offering virtual options where that's appropriate because sometimes it's hard
to take off an entire day to come sit in
court and wait for your case to be called. I
know it's been beneficial for my clients with us being
able to have virtual court. It saves them money because
instead of me sitting in the courthouse all day for

(06:10):
just their case waiting to be called, where they're being
charged while I'm sitting, I'm at home or in my
office and able to work on other clients stuff and
build them until that case is called, so they're actually
getting built for less.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Time for to handle the cases.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
So looking at all of those factors of how can
we offer more virtual options for accessibility so that we're
respectful of people's times time when they have to come
to court, and also making sure we provide some sort
of services and workshops. We're kind of explaining the process
to people so they understand it better.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, very good. So, you know, looking at all this
giving us great insight, what would you say your top
three priorities would be if you become elected Oh.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Okay, that's a great question.

Speaker 3 (06:56):
Number one is fairness and now making sure each person
comes into court is treated with fairness, impartial, and that
they're treated with dignity. Number two would be, like I said, accessibility,
how can I make this more efficient? You know, not
we don't want to minimize someone's right to be in
court and how much time we're spending, but we also

(07:18):
don't want to drag it out, you know, if we
can keep.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Things moving along. And then three, I would say compassion.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
You know, most people come to court on their worst day,
and they know it's their worst day sometimes, especially in
criminal court. You know, they know they've made some bad
decisions and they don't need me to rehash with them
the bad decisions that they made. They need to know that, Okay,
you made this decision, you violate the law. Here are
the consequences, but it's really up to you what you

(07:46):
do next. You can turn this around if you want to.
And I think handling people with that level of empathy
and compassion is extremely helpful and encouraging because again, you.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Most people know.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
There are always exceptions, you know, but most people know
when they come into that courtroom that something went wrong.
You know, and they just want an opportunity to move
past it, resolve the issue, fix it, whatever the case
may be, and move beyond that.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
There's a pathway out, Yes, there's a pathway out.

Speaker 1 (08:15):
What would you like voters to know about you that
distinguishes you from the other candidates in this race?

Speaker 3 (08:21):
Well, I feel like I'm saying the same answer, but
it is. It's the diverse background that I have, again
provides me more insight, more real life experience within the
court system from all sides. So when I've been in
courts of probation officer testifying and violation of probation hearings,
I'm working very closely with the state attorney, I'm working

(08:43):
closely sometimes with the defense, So I've seen it, you know,
from all angles. So I think that's one and just
my temperament is another thing. What you see is what
you get with me. I'm not not high strung, I'm
not low. I kind of stay pretty even killed, which
I think it's helpful to keep the emotion out of things.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
When you're on the bench.

Speaker 3 (09:03):
You want a judge who can maintain control and doesn't
let what's happening outside of that courtroom into the courtroom
and just making it as pleasant an experience as possible,
not just for people who are in court, but for
the people who work in the courtroom. And so I
think those things distinguish me. Those are the things I
would want people to remember about me.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
And then the other thing, the one thing that I've
been doing to make it.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
Easy because most people don't they're not familiar with judicial racis,
so I just tell them when you get to the judges,
my group is up first because I'm in group one.
My name is Firse, So I just say number one
in group one is your choice.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Tamika. And again,
this is Tamika Hampton Johnson and she is running for
Florida's ninth Circuit Court as a judge. So coming up
on August eighteen, yes I have to say that again,
coming up on August day, that is the primary election.

(10:03):
So please make sure you vote. And thank you for
coming in today, thank you for having me