Fleming Island attorney, former Navy fighter pilot fills Jacksonville-based Circuit Court judgeship

A Fleming Island private attorney and former Navy fighter pilot is a new judge in the 4th Judicial Circuit covering Duval, Nassau and Clay counties.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed James Kallaher to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created three months ago by the retirement of Judge Daniel Wilensky, who was elected in 2006 and just turned 70.

"He has a wealth of experience and deep roots in the community," Chief Judge Mark Mahon said, welcoming his new member. "We have had a vacancy here with Judge Wilensky for some time, and the other judges have really filled in to help manage that, but the courts are very busy and we need to get him on board as fast as we can."

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Kallaher said he will begin in about two weeks meeting with staff as he prepares for his new role on the bench.

"They need someone to step in as quickly as possible and I just hope I can do that," he said.

Kallaher said he had applied to be considered for a judgeship and joked about Monday's telephone call from the governor's general counsel confirming his appointment.

"He said, 'Judge Kallaher, congratulations, you got the appointment.' I don't remember a single word after he said that, but my phone says we spoke for 15 minutes," the circuit's new judge said.

Navy war veteran

A 2000 graduate of the Florida Coastal School of Law, Kallaher was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001 and served as managing partner and shareholder at the Jacksonville office of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.

According to his biography on the law firm website, he received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1988 from the University of Missouri. He's a U.S. Navy veteran and served as a pilot flying F-14 and F/A-18 jets. A graduate of the elite Top Gun program, he is a veteran of Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom with several tours of duty overseas including Kuwait and Afghanistan.

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Retiring in 2013 from the U.S. Navy Reserve with the rank of commander, he served an internship with U.S. District Court Judges Ralph Nimmons and Timothy Corrigan. He also worked as an assistant state attorney in Duval and Clay counties before entering private practice as a trial attorney, according to his biography.

Kallaher also has served on several nonprofit boards, including his community's Development District, Clay County Victim Services Center and Grace Episcopal Day School Board of Trustees. He is also a private pilot, his biography said.

Circuit judges handle felonies, serious lawsuits, estates, juvenile crime and some appeals. Kallaher said he has been seeking an appointment for four years and was one of six finalists selected in early 2020 by a local nominating commission after Judge Gregg McCaulie retired.

"There's a lot to do. I am having to wind down my civil practice and meet with the chief and some of the other judges," Kallaher said. "... It's going to be like drinking from a fire hose. There's a lot to get taken care of between now and then, but I am eager to get started."

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New Jacksonville Judge James Kallaher was Navy pilot, private attorney