Presiding judge vs circuit judge

The differences between presiding judges and circuit 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 judge. Additionally, a presiding judge has an average salary of $58,627, which is higher than the $58,451 average annual salary of a circuit judge.

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

Presiding judge vs circuit judge overview

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Judge
Yearly salary	$58,627	$58,451
Hourly rate	$28.19	$28.10
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	51	588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

Presiding judge vs circuit judge salary

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

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Judge
Average salary	$58,627	$58,451
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $89,000	Between $38,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between presiding judge and circuit judge education

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

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

Presiding judge vs circuit judge demographics

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

	Presiding Judge	Circuit Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4%	Male, 58.8% Female, 41.2%
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, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between presiding judge and circuit 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 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 judge skills

Common presiding judge skills

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

Common circuit judge skills

Appeals, 54%
Legal Research, 24%
Court Orders, 12%
Probate, 9%

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Presiding Judge
Presiding Judge vs Circuit Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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