On Monday, October 29, 2018, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit officially opened its new Nursing Mothers room in the central courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The room, #12106 on the 12th floor, will serve both employees and visitors of the courthouse who need to nurse. A key for the room can be signed out in Court Administration’s Human Resources office, #20140.

Creating the space was a collaborative effort between the Broward County Women Lawyers’ Association (BCWLA), Court Administration, Judge Ross, Judge Miranda, Chief Judge Jack Tuter, and the Broward County Commission. The furniture was generously donated by City Furniture.

“The 17th Circuit is proud to accommodate nursing mothers by providing a private and comfortable room to freely pump or nurse while in the courthouse,” said Judge Stacy Ross.

Last week, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit held its 95th Felony Drug Court Graduation ceremony. Judge Michele Towbin Singer hosted the ceremony honoring a crowd of over 100 graduate participants!

Last week, Broward Children’s Services Counsel held their “Reading for the Record” program in school across the county. Judge Michael Davis participated by reading to a kindergarten class at Orange Brook Elementary in Hollywood, and Judge Robert Diaz participated by reading to children at North Side Elementary School.

The Broward County Bar Association hosted their annual New Attorney Orientation Breakfast last week in the central courthouse. Attorneys recently admitted to the Florida Bar were invited to spend the morning hearing from the administrative judges in the circuit talk about what to expect in their profession and in court. The event concluded with a tour of the courthouse for all the new attorneys.

Over the past few weeks, the central courthouse has been host to several tours including middle schools, high schools and technical schools, as well as one girl scout troop. Having the opportunity to visit a courthouse and observe court in process can be a wonderful learning tool for children and adult groups alike.

This past weekend, the Florida Justice Association (FJA) Research and Education Foundation put on its annual Hon. E. Earle Zehmer  Memorial Mock Trial Competition hosted by the FJA Young Lawyers’ Section. Judges from the tri-county area presided over the mock trial competition including the 17^th Judicial Circuit’s own Judge Carpenter-Toye, Judge Gamm, Judge Gundersen, Judge Coleman, Judge Lazarus, Judge Usan, and Judge Rothschild. Also serving as presiding judges were Judge Collins, Judge Delgado, Judge Weiss, and General Magistrate Alvan Balent. The Championship Round was presided over by Judge Gordon Murray I of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

This year’s competition featured seven law schools and 14 teams and nearly 100 volunteer lawyers including members of the FJA Young Lawyers’ Section Board of Directors. There were five undefeated teams at the end of the preliminary rounds–both teams from FIU Law, both teams from Nova Law, and one of the teams from Barry Law. The final round pitted Nova Law v. Barry Law with Barry Law emerging victorious for its first FJA Mock Trial victory! “We are extremely proud of the student advocates who compete in this competition. Their natural skills at advocacy will ensure that all who have causes to plea will be heard,” said G.C. Murray II, Esq., DPL, FJA’s Deputy General Counsel and Mock Trial Director. “We are grateful for Chief Judge Tuter opening his beautiful courthouse to us and thank all of the judges and lawyers who participated; their feedback to the students was invaluable” said Murray.

To learn more about the Hon. E. Earle Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial competition visit: https://fjaresearchandeducation.org