The Hon. Dorothy J. Russell (Ret.) served as a judge for the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Russell was appointed to the bench by former Governor Bob Martinez in 1990. She retired in 2003 and continued to preside as a senior judge.
The 9th Judicial Circuit encompasses Osceola County and Orange County. Russell held assignments in both counties, presiding over cases in the Juvenile Division (Osceola), the Civil Division (Orange), the Criminal Division (Orange), and the Domestic Relations Division (Orange, Osceola). She also sat as the administrative judge for the Criminal Division of the 9th Judicial Circuit (1997 to 2001).
Prior to her appointment, Russell was a judge for the Orange County Court, a position to which she was named in 1983.
Russell earned an associate's degree in business administration from Olympic College, a bachelor's degree in business education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a master's degree in counseling from Rollins College. She then completed a J.D. at the Stetson University College of Law in 1978.