Hon. Joseph Tompkins

The Honorable Joseph Tompkins is a Circuit Court Judge for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa, Florida.  Judge Tompkins was appointed and elevated to this position by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2023 after serving two years as a Hillsborough County Court Judge.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Tompkins served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Middle District of Florida for three years.  There, Judge Tompkins successfully prosecuted civil rights violations and defended the United States’ interests in civil, criminal, and bankruptcy matters throughout all stages of litigation.  

Upon graduation from law school, Judge Tompkins served as a law clerk to Judge Tom Barber in the Circuit Civil and Felony Divisions for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Judge Douglas Wallace of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, and Judge Nelly Khouzam of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal.  Judge Tompkins earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Ave Maria School of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from Ave Maria University, where he received the schools' highest awards for academic excellence, leadership, and community service and became a published author on the Free Exercise Clause.  Judge Tompkins was a John Witherspoon Fellow at the John Jay Institute and a former Vice President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federalist Society. 

Judge Tompkins plays an active role in the Tampa Bay community, donating his time and talents to his church, various legal organizations, and inns of court.  He resides in Tampa with his wife and six children.