The Hon. Joshua M. Hawkes is a judge for the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Ron DeSantis on September 23, 2020, filling a vacancy created by the elevation of the Hon. Robert E. Long, Jr. to the Florida First District Court of Appeal.
The 2nd Judicial Circuit encompasses Franklin County, Gadsden County, Jefferson County, Leon County, Liberty County, and Wakulla County.
Prior to his appointment, Hawkes worked as an associate in the Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Team and the Appellate Practice Team at Foley & Lardner, a law firm he joined in 2015. Before that, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Stephanie W. Ray of the Florida First District Court of Appeal.
Hawkes earned a B.S. in systems engineering from the United States Naval Academy (2003) and an M.S. in nuclear engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (2004). He then completed a J.D. at Florida State University College of Law
in 2014. As a law student, Hawkes was the executive editor of the Florida State University Law Review. He also served as a student attorney for the Public Interest Law Center as well as a legislative intern for the Florida House of Representatives.
A resident of Tallahassee, Florida, Hawkes is the son of the Hon. Paul Hawkes, a former Chief Judge of the Florida First District Court of Appeal. His brother, Jeremiah Hawkes, has served as general counsel to the Florida State Senate. Hawkes is a reserve commander in the United States Judge Advocate General’s Corps, having previously served active duty on submarines with the United States Navy.
He is registered as a Republican.