Judges

Judge Masters began her service on the Court on January 3, 2000. She served as Chief Judge from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2023. She has served in the following assignments: Appeals, Circuit Civil, Criminal, Family, Guardianship, Juvenile Dependency, Mental Health, and Probate.

Judge Masters has served for the past fifteen years as a Mentor in the Court Education Mentor Program of the Office of the State Courts and currently serves as the Tenth Circuit’s Coordinator for Mentors. She has been appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court to the Florida Supreme Court’s Steering Committee for Families and Children in the Court. She served from 2007 to 2020 on the Commission on Trial Court Performance and Accountability. She has also previously served on the Trial Court Statistics and Workload Committee including several years as Chair. Judge Masters has been a member in the local chapter of the American Inns of Court, serving as President of the Willson Inn for the 2006-07 academic year. She has participated as a speaker at various court education events and bar functions.

The local legal community has honored Judge Masters with awards including the 2021 “Jurist of the Year” presented by the Polk Association of Women Lawyers, the 2014 “Karla Forman Wright Professionalism Award” presented by the Polk County Trial Lawyers Association, and the 2008 “Willson American Inn of Court Professionalism Award” presented by the Willson Inn. In 2009, Judge Masters received the Polk Community College Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Education:
Judge Masters received her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law Cum Laude in 1989. She earned her B.A. from the University of South Florida Summa Cum Laude in 1985.
Judge Masters was admitted to practice in the Florida Courts in 1989, the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida in 1990, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1994. She became a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator in 1997. In private practice, Judge Masters was employed by Mars & Masters, P.A. and Ellen Sly Masters, P.A. She received The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award in 1994. She served on The Florida Bar Grievance Committee from 1994 to 1997, serving as Chair in 1997.