---
title: "Joseph Lawhorne | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-lawhorne"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Joseph Lawhorne

Pinellas County Court · County Judge

## Profile

- Court: Pinellas County Court
- State: Florida
- Role: County Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### media and still photography

Scope: statewide

Electronic media and still-photography coverage is allowed in Florida public trial and appellate proceedings under Rule 2.450's equipment and conduct standards, always subject to the presiding judge's control of decorum, distractions, and fair administration.

Evidence excerpt: Subject at all times to the authority of the presiding judge to: (i) control the conduct of proceedings before the court; (ii) ensure decorum and prevent distractions; and (iii) ensure the fair administration of justice in the pending cause, electronic media and still photography coverage of public judicial proceedings in the appellate and trial courts of this state shall be allowed

[Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.450, Media and Still Photography Coverage](https://ninthcircuit.org/florida-rule-judicial-administration-2450)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.jud6.org/judges/)
- [Official roster](https://www.jud6.org/judges/)
- [Florida Judicial Branch circuit court administration official judicial roster](https://www.jud6.org/judges/)
- [Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.450, Media and Still Photography Coverage](https://ninthcircuit.org/florida-rule-judicial-administration-2450)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Joseph D. Lawhorne is the County Judge for the Criminal Division in Pinellas County, Florida, serving since 2020 and re‐elected in 2022, with his term ending January 2, 2029
- Website: Sixth Judicial Circuit – Judge Lawhorne Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida
- Office: Pinellas County Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762, USA

### Education


### Additional information

- As County Judge, he represents constituents in the criminal division and oversees related judicial matters
- Lawhorne presides over criminal cases in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which covers Pasco and Pinellas counties in Florida’s west central region.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.450, Media and Still Photography Coverage](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-f9444c394a89ab9f4ffde994) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://ninthcircuit.org/florida-rule-judicial-administration-2450). Collected 2026-07-26.