The Hon. J. Dale Durrance (Ret.) served as a judge for the 10th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Durrance was elected to the bench in 1984. He retired in 2016 and continued to serve as a senior judge.
The 10th Judicial Circuit encompasses Hardee County, Highlands County, and Polk County. Durrance held assignments in Polk County.
Prior to his election, Durrance was a judge for the Polk County Court, a position to which he was named in 1980. Before that, he spent time as an assistant state attorney in the Office of the State Attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit (1978 to 1980) and the 13th Judicial Circuit (1976 to 1978).
Durrance earned a B.A. from Florida State University in 1973. He then completed a J.D. at Florida State University College of Law in 1975.
Born and raised in Fort Meade, Florida, Durrance was nicknamed “Jail Dale” because of his tendency to impose lengthy sentences on defendants. At the time of his retirement in 2016, after more than 35 years on the bench, he had the longest judicial tenure in the 10th Judicial Circuit.