Presiding judge vs circuit court judge

The differences between presiding judges and circuit court judges can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a presiding judge and a circuit court judge. Additionally, a presiding judge has an average salary of $58,627, which is higher than the $57,974 average annual salary of a circuit court judge.

The top three skills for a presiding judge include legal research, jury trials and election process. The most important skills for a circuit court judge are legal research, circuit court, and legal issues.

Presiding judge vs circuit court judge overview

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Court Judge
Yearly salary	$58,627	$57,974
Hourly rate	$28.19	$27.87
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	51	1,339
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

Presiding judge vs circuit court judge salary

Presiding judges and circuit court judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Court Judge
Average salary	$58,627	$57,974
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $89,000	Between $38,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between presiding judge and circuit court judge education

There are a few differences between a presiding judge and a circuit court judge in terms of educational background:

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Court Judge
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Richmond

Presiding judge vs circuit court judge demographics

Here are the differences between presiding judges' and circuit court judges' demographics:

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Court Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%	Male, 45.6% Female, 54.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between presiding judge and circuit court judge duties and responsibilities

Presiding judge example responsibilities.

Manage, and update all scheduling of events, meetings, and appointments for mediation and arbitration for family law cases.
Perform extensive research and prepare legal memoranda on domestic relations and probate issues.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

Circuit court judge example responsibilities.

Manage, and update all scheduling of events, meetings, and appointments for mediation and arbitration for family law cases.
Perform extensive research and prepare legal memoranda on domestic relations and probate issues.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

Presiding judge vs circuit court judge skills

Common presiding judge skills

Legal Research, 39%
Jury Trials, 19%
Election Process, 16%
Legal Issues, 14%
General Supervision, 13%

Common circuit court judge skills

Legal Research, 29%
Circuit Court, 24%
Legal Issues, 20%
Appeals, 16%
Jury Trials, 5%
Law Enforcement, 3%

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Presiding Judge
Presiding Judge vs Circuit Court Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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