The Honorable Jessica G. Costello currently serves as a Hillsborough County Court Judge, presiding over civil cases and Domestic Violence Injunction for Protection matters. Judge Costello was appointed on March 29, 2019, and elected without opposition to a full term of service on April 24, 2020. Shortly after her appointment to the bench, Judge Costello was selected to serve as a member of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet, a statewide board whose mission is to improve the self-sufficiency, safety, economic stability, health, and quality of life of all children in Florida. She is a proud mom to her 6-year-old son Cameron and wife to husband Shane, a partner with the Tampa law firm Hill Ward Henderson. 

Dedication to public service has defined Judge Costello’s career. Prior to her judicial appointment, she served as a prosecutor in Florida’s 4th and 13th Judicial Circuits, and as an Assistant Statewide Prosecutor with the Florida Attorney General’s Office. As a prosecutor, she tried over 100 cases to verdict in front of judges and juries, ranging from misdemeanors to complex multi-defendant cases, to death penalty homicides. As an Assistant Statewide Prosecutor, she managed local, state, and federal law enforcement teams in prosecuting organized crime throughout the state, with a focus on counterterrorism, gangs, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and fraud. Judge Costello served as a member of Florida's Anti-Terrorism Task Force and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Committee. She also 

worked with community leaders and nongovernmental organizations to engage and inform the public about issues related to crime.  

Named ‘Florida's Gang Prosecutor of the Year’ in 2015, Judge Costello was selected as a Top Government Attorney by Florida Trend from 2014--2019 and was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 'Up and Comers Hall of Fame’ in 2016. She was named a 'Woman of Color Leading Change' by the YWCA of Tampa Bay in 2017, received the University of Florida's Outstanding Young Alumni award in 2018, and in 2020 was recognized for her leadership and service as an Honorary Inductee into Florida Blue Key. In 2021, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers named her a ‘Leader in the Law’.  

In 2022 the Hillsborough County Bar Association named Judge Costello ‘Outstanding Jurist of the Year’; Tampa Magazine selected her to receive its ‘Top 10 Under 40’ Award, and she received the Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit for her commitment to professionalism in the practice of law. 

She serves her community on the boards of Moffitt Cancer Center, Academy Prep Center of Tampa, the University of Florida Alumni Association, the Florida State University College of Law Alumni Association, the Junior League of Tampa, the George Edgecomb Bar Association, the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association. Judge Costello also serves as a lecturer and teacher on judicial and legal topics for entities including the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and The Florida Bar. She will tell you however, that her work mentoring at-risk youth, first generation college students, and young professionals is that which makes her most proud. 

Judge Costello is a committed supporter of our military, serving as a MacDill Air Force Base Honorary Commander. As an honorary commander, Judge Costello has participated in Command Staff briefings, facilitated staff visits and shadowing in the courthouse where she serves, flown on cross country civic leader air tours, and presented on leadership to members of the Dozier Airman Leadership School and U.S. Special Operations Command Central.