The 17th Circuit’s Chief Judge, Peter M. Weinstein, was honored with the Judge of the Year Award by the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Fort Lauderdale Chapter, at the organization’s annual Judge’s Night Dinner on January 21, 2012.

 
Also honored at the reception was local Fort Lauderdale attorney Jay Cohen, who was awarded the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Both award recipients were chosen by their ABOTA chapter peers.

 
Pictured above are Judges Charles Greene and Paul Backman congratulating Judge Weinstein, and award recipients Judge Weinstein and attorney Jay Cohen.

ABOTA’s mission is to uphold the jury system by educating the American public about the history and value of the right to trial by jury.

 
Congratulations to all!

Barbara Beilly, General Magistrate in the 17th Circuit, was honored with the Visionary of the Year Award by the Florida Bar family law section, on January 27, 2012. She was recognized for her “tireless efforts and contributions to the enhancement of family law practice and procedure throughout the state of Florida.” On behalf of the 17th Circuit family, congratulations General Magistrate Beilly!

The 17th  Judicial Circuit welcomes its newest General Magistrate, Lucy Ramos Miller, who will begin in the Family division on February 3, 2012. Ms. Miller began her career with the 17th  Circuit in November 2009 as a staff attorney, working on civil, family, and civil appeals cases. Prior to her work in Florida, Mrs. Miller practiced law in Ohio for five years, both as an assistant prosecutor handling dependency and delinquency cases and also in private practice handling family, dependency, delinquency, and criminal defense cases. Congratulations Ms. Miller!

When loss of funding and workforce reduction hit the foreclosure division in the 17 th Circuit in July of this year, Judge Garcia-Wood had to get creative with ways to manage the heavy docket of the Residential Foreclosure Division. Judge Garcia-Wood reached out to the Nova Law School where Ms. Denise Corin, Associate Director of Career and Professional Development at Nova, immediately responded, sending two students per day, Monday through Thursday, for the morning and afternoon dockets. The foreclosure division was delighted to have the assistance of the law students and the students, in turn, had the opportunity to observe and participate in the residential foreclosure proceedings. Judge Garcia-Wood would like to thank Ms. Denise Corin for coordinating the interns and the following law students who volunteered countless hours in the Residential Foreclosure Division:

Caroline Lewis

Vanessa Romero

Harry Dominguez

Robert Jackson

Jaclyn Kennard

Julie Liva

Jenna Kulbersh

Katherine Hustis

Nicole Sanchez

Lisa Bloch

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Chief Judge Peter Weinstein and Administrative Family Judge Susan Greenhawt announce the launch of electronic filing in the 17th Judicial Circuit’s Family Division. This is the second division within the circuit to transition to the e-filing service; the Probate Division piloted the program in April 2008. Utilizing the Clerk of Courts’ statewide portal, the e-filing system is voluntary and available only for existing cases.

“When I became Chief Judge, I formed a technology committee with the purpose of utilizing electronic communications to make the practice of law easier and more affordable for attorneys, litigants, and the court system,” says Chief Judge Peter Weinstein. “I extend my sincere thanks to Judge Mel Grossman, head of the committee, and his staff, for their continued efforts in this process. This gets us one step closer to accomplishing the goal of mandatory electronic filings in all cases in all divisions by the end of 2013, as recommended by the Florida Court Technology Commission.”

Attorneys wishing to utilize this service may go to www.myflcourtaccess.com to register an account and begin filing directly to the Clerk of Courts’ office. The Administrative Order may be viewed at 2011-53-UFC.

Several members of the Broward County legislative delegation and their staff visited the central courthouse on Wednesday, October 12, to hear first-hand how the court system is doing more with less. Court funding has been a top issue for several years now, as every tier of the judiciary has taken budgetary hits and suffered layoffs. In an effort to give legislators who represent Broward County citizens a better understanding of how the local courts are handling more cases with less staff, all were invited to visit with Chief Judge Weinstein and other 17 th Circuit judges, for an informal discussion, and a tour afterwards.