--- title: "Mark W. Klingensmith | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-w-klingensmith" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Mark W. Klingensmith Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal · District Court of Appeal Judge ## Profile - Court: Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal - State: Florida - Role: District Court of Appeal Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-26 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Rick Scott) Chief Judge, Fourth District Court of Appeal (2022–2025) - Chief judge service: Chief Judge, Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, 2022-2025 - Judge, Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, commissioned 2013 - Circuit Judge, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, commissioned 2011 - Shareholder, Sonneborn Rutter Cooney & Klingensmith PA, 1992-2011 - 25 years in private civil litigation practice at Sonneborn Rutter Cooney & Klingensmith PA and predecessor firms (1986–2011) - Adjunct Professor, Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration, Nova Southeastern University, Winter 1997 - Junior Partner, Metzger Sonneborn & Rutter PA, 1990-1992 - Associate, Metzger & Sonneborn PA, West Palm Beach, February 1986-1990 ### Education - Duke University — LL.M. (2016) - University of Florida — J.D. (1985) - University of Florida — B.A. (1982) ### Additional information - President, Florida Conference of District Court Judges, 2024–2025. - Author of Lyrics in the Law: Music’s Influence on America’s Courts (2020). - Commissioner, Vice-Mayor and Mayor, Town of Sewall's Point, Florida, 2008-2011 - Florida Bar board-certified in civil trial law in 2001; recertified in 2006 and 2011. - Bar admission: Supreme Court of the United States, 1991 - Bar admission: Florida Bar, 1986 - Bar admission: State Bar of California (inactive), 1986 - Editor-in-Chief, Florida Journal of International Law, 1984–1985. ## 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://4dca.flcourts.gov/judges/Judge-Mark-W.-Klingensmith) - [Official roster](https://4dca.flcourts.gov/judges/Judge-Mark-W.-Klingensmith) - [Florida appellate courts official judge directories official judicial roster](https://4dca.flcourts.gov/judges/Judge-Mark-W.-Klingensmith) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6953/mark-w-klingensmith/) - [Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.450, Media and Still Photography Coverage](https://ninthcircuit.org/florida-rule-judicial-administration-2450) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6953/mark-w-klingensmith/) - [Judge Mark W. Klingensmith](https://4dca.flcourts.gov/Judges/Chief-Judge-Mark-W.-Klingensmith) - [Mark W. Klingensmith](https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_W._Klingensmith) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-w-klingensmith", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-w-klingensmith", "name": "Mark W. Klingensmith | KnowJudges", "description": "Mark W. Klingensmith, Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-w-klingensmith#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-w-klingensmith#judge", "name": "Mark W. 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