Judge Hope Tieman Bristol, Administrative Judge for Unified Family, and Judge Jose Izquierdo, who presides in Dependency, led a Broward County team to the ZERO TO THREE Safe Baby Courts Conference in Boston last week.

Judge Izquierdo presented on his work with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court. In Broward County, the 17th Judicial Circuit established a collaborative framework with the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Court to better handle cases under the federal ICWA. Judge Izquierdo spearheaded this initiative to help bridge state dependency proceedings with tribal jurisdiction and customs.

Judge Bristol attended the conference with her Early Childhood Court team, gaining valuable insight into the latest approaches to supporting infants, young children and their families involved in the child welfare system.

We’re proud of our judges and teams for sharing their expertise, learning from colleagues across the country, and bringing innovative approaches back to Broward County. (Pictured in the insert, left to right: Judge Jose Izquierdo, Judge Hope Tieman Bristol, ChildNet Director of Case Management ECC Diane Rufus, ChildNet Dependency Case Manager Supervisor ECC Sherelle Young, ChildNet Early Childhood Court Dependency Case Manager Tyquisha Lee, and Trent Baker, Juvenile Problem-Solving Courts Program Coordinator.)

Members of the Florida Association of Problem-Solving Courts (FAPSC) recently attended the All Rise RISE26 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, representing Problem-Solving Courts from Judicial Circuits throughout the State of Florida.

This group brought together judges, court administrators, program managers, coordinators, and other Problem-Solving Court professionals from across Florida to share knowledge, exchange innovative ideas, and learn the latest evidence-based practices in treatment courts and justice innovation.

Their participation reflects Florida’s strong statewide commitment to the continued development, advancement, and success of Problem-Solving Courts, while providing an opportunity to collaborate with treatment-court professionals from across the nation.

The FAPSC members attending RISE26 proudly represented the many Judicial Circuits and Problem-Solving Court programs that serve Florida communities every day.

A homeschool group from Palm Beach County spent the day exploring the 17th Judicial Circuit and learning how the courts operate.

The students met with Judge Kenneth L. Gillespie, observed live court proceedings in the courtroom of Judge Elijah H. Williams, learned about the role of the Public Defender’s Office from Assistant Public Defender Tayron Lopez, and explored the science of ballistics with Broward Sheriff’s Office forensic scientist Hery Figueroa.

From the courtroom to the crime lab, there’s no better way to learn about the law than by experiencing it firsthand!

Attention! An ongoing jury duty scam has once again been reported in South Florida. The scam involves attempts to obtain money, threats of fines and even jail time.

Don’t fall for it!

Callers claiming to be law enforcement or Circuit Court judges are threatening victims that have missed jury service, claiming if they do not comply with the caller’s requests, they could be fined or face jail time.

Anyone contacting you to demand a fine or threaten jail time is not connected to the Federal or State Court System nor a member of a law enforcement agency.

Contact the Broward Sheriff’s Office at 954-831-8901 or the U.S. Marshal’s Office at 954-356-7256 if you are contacted.

Read the press release HERE.