The 30th annual Red Mass of the Broward County-based St. Thomas More Society of South Florida was held Sept. 26 at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale. Justice Barbara Lagoa, of the Florida Supreme Court, joined fellow judges from the Seventeenth Circuit and other members of the legal community for the affair, which included mass and a dinner reception. At the reception, Judge Edward Merrigan who is a Brigadier General, U.S. Army Reserve, was presented with the Society’s annual Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award.
Congratulations Judge Merrigan!
photos courtesy Tom Tracy
Judge Edward Merrigan, left, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and Brigadier General, U.S. Army Reserve, spoke at the reception following the 30th annual Red Mass celebration of the St. Thomas More Society of South Florida at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale Sept. 26. Judge Merrigan was awarded with the Society’s annual Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award. Presenting the award was Chief Judge Jack Tuter of 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Judge Edward Merrigan, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and Brigadier General, U.S. Army Reserve, and his wife Tamara Rimes-Merrigan attend the 30th annual Red Mass celebration of the St. Thomas More Society of South Florida at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale Sept. 26. Judge Merrigan was awarded with the Society’s annual Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award.
Justice Barbara Lagoa, right, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from Florida and currently a member of the Florida Supreme Court, attends the 30th annual Red Mass celebration of the St. Thomas More Society of South Florida at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale Sept. 26. Justice Lagoa is a Miami native who grew up in Hialeah, attended Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1989 from Florida International University.
Catholic judges, lawyers and other legal professionals take part in the 30th annual Red Mass of the Broward County-based St. Thomas More Society of South Florida, Sept. 26 at St. Anthony Church in Fort Lauderdale.
Circuit Judge Tarlika Navarro hosted students visiting from McArthur High School last week in her courtroom. They had a panel of exceptional guest speakers sharing their journeys into the legal field as minorities, stressing the importance of education, inclusion, diversity, acceptance and kindness towards others.
The Seventeenth Circuit was presented with the 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award at the Florida Chapter Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (FLAFCC) annual conference in Orlando on September 25, 2019. Given by the Florida Supreme Court Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Court, the honor specifically recognizes our circuit’s shared mediation calendar and our expanded self help center.
Congratulations to our mediation and arbitration division and our unified case management division!
The Broward County Bar Association’s Mentoring and Professionalism Committees hosted a welcome ceremony for all new members of the Florida Bar, holding a “mass” swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys who passed the July 2019 bar exam. The late afternoon event saw many judges and attorneys in attendance, participating in the inaugural “Welcome to the Broward Bar” ceremony.
Last week, the first of many scheduled school tours took place at the Central Courthouse for the 2019-2020 school year. Westglades Middle school’s 8th grade World History teacher, Mr. Bremner, brought 7th and 8th graders in to tour the building, watch first appearance court and a trial, and get a hands-on demonstration in the Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit.
On Friday, September 20, 2019, the Seventeenth Circuit’s newest Magistrate, Rudolph Morel, was sworn in by Chief Judge Jack Tuter. Prior to becoming a Magistrate, Mr. Morel worked in the Public Defender’s Office in the Drug and Mental Health Court divisions for 14 years. Before that, he was a Miami Dade County attorney. Magistrate Morel received his Juris Doctor from University of Miami School of Law.
