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What Has Oxalis Garcia Learned While Campaigning for Circuit Judge in Pinellas County?
Most voters have no idea they can vote for judges — and most judicial elections are settled in the primaries, long before the general election. Oxalis Garcia also points out a striking reality: voters are statistically more likely to stand before the judge they elected than to ever personally encounter a senator, a representative, or the president.
A gap in civic awareness that Garcia encounters at every door
One of the most consistent surprises Garcia has encountered on the campaign trail is how few voters know that judges appear on their ballots at all. This isn't a niche oversight — it reflects a broader civic blind spot that affects who ends up on the bench in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.
As Garcia explains it in From Courtroom to Carline, the stakes are genuinely high. Judges decide custody arrangements, civil disputes, and criminal matters that touch people's lives directly. Yet the election that determines who holds that power often flies entirely under the radar.
The primary is where it matters most. In many Florida judicial races, the primary is the decisive contest — the general election may not even be competitive. Voters who miss the primary have often already lost their say. This is a detail Garcia makes a point of communicating during her campaign for Pinellas County Circuit Judge Group 44, and one that the hosts of From Courtroom to Carline found worth airing to their audience of legal professionals and parents.
The judge you voted for is the one you're most likely to face
Garcia frames the relevance of judicial elections in a way that reframes the stakes entirely. You may never shake hands with your senator. You may never be in the same room as your congressional representative. But the circuit judge you elected — or didn't vote on — could be the person deciding your divorce, your custody rights, or a civil claim against you.
With 20 years of legal experience across three jurisdictions — Puerto Rico, Florida, and Maryland — Garcia brings a perspective shaped by more than courtroom work. She has practiced civil and family law in Florida since 2012, specializing in complex jurisdictional matters and international Hague child abduction cases. That depth of hands-on experience is precisely what she argues voters should weigh when they approach a judicial race, as she makes clear in this episode of From Courtroom to Carline.
"I bring a multicultural and multi-jurisdictional perspective to the bench, which is something that I don't believe any other judge has at this moment in time in the Sixth Judicial Circuit."
Oxalis Garcia — Attorney & Candidate for Pinellas County Circuit Judge Group 44.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Garcia is licensed to practice law in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Maryland, and has been practicing in Florida since 2012. She specializes in family law and international Hague child abduction cases, and merged her practice with law partner Michael Berry to form Garcia & Berry Law. She also appeared as a legal consultant on the reality TV show 90 Day Fiance. Her campaign for the Sixth Judicial Circuit is centered on the values of diversity, integrity, and commitment — and on closing the awareness gap around judicial elections.
Garcia's campaign message doubles as public legal education. She is not just asking voters to support her candidacy — she is explaining, often for the first time to many constituents, that they have a vote to cast at all. It is a form of civic outreach that sits at the intersection of law and community engagement, a theme explored at length in From Courtroom to Carline.
See also
Why is Oxalis Garcia running for Pinellas County Circuit Judge Group 44?
Garcia says she is running because she has reached a stage in her career, after 20 years of practice, where it is time to start a new chapter. She frames her candidacy as a natural evolution from decades of courtroom experience into a role where she can shape justice from the bench.
How did Oxalis Garcia become involved in international Hague child abduction cases?
Garcia became involved by chance when a client's daughter was taken to Trinidad and Tobago by the father. While trying to get a child pickup order in that case, she discovered the field of international Hague child abduction law and gradually built a specialty around it.
What is the International Hague Treaty and how does Oxalis Garcia handle those cases?
The International Hague Treaty, as Garcia explains, deals specifically with international child abductions — situations where a parent takes a child out of one country and retains them in another, either bringing them to the United States or taking them abroad. Garcia helps the left-behind parent pursue the child's return through the treaty framework.
Key takeaways
- Most voters do not know they can vote for judges — Garcia encounters this gap consistently on the campaign trail in Pinellas County.
- Judicial elections in Florida are largely decided in the primaries, not the general election — missing the primary often means losing your voice entirely.
- Voters are statistically more likely to appear before the judge they elected than to ever meet a senator, representative, or president — making the judicial vote among the most personally consequential on the ballot.
- Garcia's campaign serves a dual function: seeking votes and educating the public on a civic right they didn't know they held.
Oxalis Garcia's full conversation — including her background in Hague child abduction cases and her vision for the Sixth Judicial Circuit — is available on Listenly.
Listen to the episode on Listenly