Josephine Gagliardi was appointed to the County bench by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006. As a county judge she hears both civil and criminal matters. The criminal matters are misdemeanors, and the civil matters concern litigation with the jurisdictional amounts of $50,000 for County Court and $8000 for Small Claims Court. She also hears traffic and municipal ordinance violations. Since 2008, she has volunteered to handle cases for the Lee County Felony Adult Drug Court program. This program assists addicts to recover, attain sobriety, and become productive members of society. In 2022, she additionally began presiding over Mental Health Court and Veterans Court.

Judge Gagliardi serves on the Florida Courts Technology Commission of the Florida Supreme Court. She is a judicial mentor judge and participates in court business meetings regularly. In the past, she has served on the Florida Courts Education Council, the Publications Committee, and she has been the Editor of the Courier, the newsletter of the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida, as well as participating regularly on court education programs, committees, and workgroups. For the 2019-2020 term she was the chair of the Florida Bar Rules of Judicial Administration Committee. In the year 2000, she served as the president of the Lee County Bar Association.

Judge Gagliardi is very active in her community volunteering her time with the Boy Scouts, Pace, Rotary, Calusa Inn of Court, and other legal and civic organizations.

She earned her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and her Juris Doctor from Antioch School of Law. She is married and the mother of twin adult sons.