Judge William H. Burgess, III: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. William H. Burgess, III is a judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. He was elected to the bench on August 14, 2012.

The 6th Judicial Circuit encompasses Pasco County and Pinellas County.

Prior to beginning his judicial career, Burgess worked as an assistant state attorney with the Office of the State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, having held the position since 1995. He also taught as an adjunct professor at St. Petersburg College and was a Trial Advocacy professor at Stetson University College of Law.

He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Massachusetts (1974) and an M.P.A. from Clark University (1982). Burgess went on to complete a J.D. at American University, Washington College of Law, in 1985. He was admitted to practice in Florida (1995) and is Board Certified in Criminal Law and Trial by The Florida Bar.

His memberships have included the St. Petersburg Bar Association, the Clearwater Bar Association, the West Pasco Bar Association, the East Pasco Bar Association, and the Barney Masterson Inn of Court. Burgess has also sat on the Committee on Criminal Law Certification of The Florida Bar and was a former member of its Standing Committee on the Unlicensed Practice of Law, the Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee, the Standing Committee on Professionalism, and the Judicial Administration, Selection, and Tenure Committee.

He served as a lecturer for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Public Defenders Association, and the Florida Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Burgess is a veteran, having served in the infantry, military intelligence, and Special Forces in the United States Army (1976 to 1995). During his military service, he gained wartime command experience in the Persian Gulf.

He is a married father of two grown children.