Jones-Peabody seeks Circuit 11 Group 69 bench Nov. 3

Bonita Jones-Peabody is running for Circuit Court Judge in Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit, Group 69. The nonpartisan seat appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot.

Jones-Peabody faces Rita Maria Baez in the runoff. In the Aug. 18 primary, Baez received 37.1% of the vote and Jones-Peabody received 35%, according to the Miami Times. Jones-Peabody received 31,940 mail ballots in that primary, the Miami Times reported.

Candidate information

Age: 68
Education: Bachelor's degree in journalism, University of Florida; juris doctor, University of Miami School of Law, 1990
Florida Bar admission: December 1990
Current role: Senior supervising attorney, Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office (since 2018), according to BallotReady
Previous run: Jones-Peabody ran for circuit court judge in 2024 and lost to Jason Edward Bloch after receiving 38% of the vote, according to the Miami Times

Experience and public service

Jones-Peabody has practiced law for over 35 years across criminal, civil, juvenile, family, probate, guardianship, immigration and administrative matters, according to the Miami Times.

She has participated in roughly 200 jury trials, about 120 as first chair, the Miami Times reported. She has also handled 75 civil cases and trained more than 100 attorneys, according to the same report.

Her career at the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office spans several roles. She served as a Padilla office-wide consultant from 2012 to 2013 and assistant public defender from 2013 to 2016, according to BallotReady. She then worked as a training attorney from 2016 to 2018 before becoming senior supervising attorney in 2018.

Jones-Peabody also served as assistant general counsel at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from 2007 to 2010, according to BallotReady. She was a sole practitioner at the Law Office of Bonita Jones-Peabody from 2000 to 2007. She also served as managing partner at Summit Law Group, the Miami Times reported.

Her private practice handled landlord-tenant disputes, foreclosures and adoptions in addition to criminal defense, the Miami Times reported.

Before practicing law, Jones-Peabody worked as a journalist at The Miami Times, a public information officer at Miami-Dade County and a radio host on "Community Roundtable" at WEDR, according to the Miami Times.

Jones-Peabody began civic engagement early. She became a Model City youth commissioner at age 12 and advocated for the creation of a park, according to the Miami Herald. While in high school, she worked in a state welfare fraud office and accompanied staff to court, the Miami Times reported.