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The Honorable William III Burgess

Division 22·Pinellas County · Florida
738 cases since 202049% FJ rate
Division Context

Section 22 - Pinellas County Family Law Division. Handles contested and uncontested dissolutions, child custody disputes, child support, and domestic violence injunctions in family proceedings. 6th Judicial Circuit.

How the judge operates

Judge William III Burgess has sat on the Pinellas County Family Law bench since 2014 and brings 19 years of military service (including Special Forces) and prior prosecution experience to the bench. He holds board certification in Criminal Trial Law and earned his J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law.

Background

CourthouseSt. Petersburg Judicial Building
Year on Bench2014
Law SchoolAmerican University, Washington College of Law
UndergraduateUniversity of Massachusetts (B.A. Political Science); Clark University (M.P.A.)
Assumed OfficeJanuary 2012
Pre-Bench CareerU.S. Army Infantry/Military Intelligence/Special Forces officer (1976-1995), retiring as Major; Assistant State Attorney, Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office; board-certified in Criminal Trial Law
Bar Associations
The Florida BarFlorida Bar Standing Committee on the Unlicensed Practice of LawFlorida Bar Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee

Closed Dissolution Cases

From 7,853 dissolution cases · Pinellas County · 2020–2026

Total Cases738
Final Judgments36049%
Dismissed0
Avg Filings / Case99
With Children239
Without Children222
Reopened Cases172

Most Frequent Attorneys

Bar & Civic Roles

  • FL Bar #65889
  • Washington College of Law at American University J.D. (1985)
  • M.P.A. Clark University
  • B.A. Political Science, University of Massachusetts. Military service 1976-1995 (U.S. Army: Infantry, Military Intelligence, Special Forces). Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law. Currently Vice Chair, FL Bar Board of Legal Specialization & Education (through June 30 2027). Former member: FL Bar Standing Committee on Unlicensed Practice of Law
  • FL Bar Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee. Adjunct professor, St. Petersburg College. Author, 'Florida Sentencing (2007-2013)' Thomson-West.

William III Burgess is modeled as a family-court bench actor in Section 22, with 0 graph connections and 0 documented trap signals.

All data sourced from public court records. Judges are bound by Florida law, not personal tendencies. Past case patterns reflect caseload composition and case complexity — they do not predict how a judge will rule in your specific case.