The Seventeenth Circuit’s Girls Court program, run by Juvenile Delinquency Judge Stacy Ross, was one of only five in the nation selected by Boston College of Law and the National Girls Initiative to participate in a comparative study of girl-focused Specialty Courts. Researchers conducted a site visit last week at the Central Courthouse, observing Girls Court and conducting interviews of various stakeholders. Judge Ross says, “It is a very exciting study on this emerging trend and we are very honored to be a part of it!”

As problem-solving courts continue to grow and thrive throughout the state and the country, the Florida Supreme Court has established a Steering Committee on Problem-Solving Courts in an effort to continue providing thoughtful practices and principles to the specialized dockets. Circuit Judge Michele Towbin Singer and Magistrate Randi Boven have both been appointed to this ever-important committee.

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The Seventeenth Circuit held another successful Suspended  Driver License Clinic last week. The all-day affair assisted 75 appointments, and several walk-ins. At the end of the day, 22 had their records reinstated, 19 licenses were issued, and one ID card. Three licenses were reinstated and one-third of all parties entered into a partial payment plan, thus having their cases withdrawn from collections.
The clinic is a collaborative effort between Chief Judge Jack Tuter, Judge Robert Diaz, Clerk Brenda Forman, attorneys from the Public Defender’s and State Attorney’s offices, DHSMV and the Department of Revenue.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges selected the 17th Circuit for a trauma assessment, sending assessors in to observe and evaluate on dependency, delinquency, domestic violence, and domestic relations hearings. Over a span of several days, representatives from the Council and the Office of the State Courts Administrator sat in on proceedings in several different courtrooms, evaluating the processes in place to reduce trauma that adults and children may be exposed to in coming to court.

Here, the group meets with Early Childhood Court and Drug Court teams for an informal discussion.