On Wednesday, March 7, 2018, the University of Miami’s Law Alumni Association hosted its annual Broward County Judicial Reception and Judge Sharon Zeller, Misdemeanor and Juvenile Drug Court Judge, was among the night’s award recipients. Judge Zeller, JD Class of ’79, practiced law for 10 years before coming to the Seventeenth Circuit, first as a General Magistrate in 1989 and then as a County Court Judge in 1996. For 22 years, Judge Zeller has presided over civil, criminal, and most recently juvenile and misdemeanor drug court county cases. She was also the County Court Administrative Judge from 2007-2017.

Congratulations on your honor, Judge Zeller!

Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren can add one more achievement to her impressive resume – published author. Available March 6, 2018, A Court of Refuge: Stories from the Bench of America’s First Mental Health Court tells the story of how the first dedicated mental health court in the United States grew from an offshoot of Judge Lerner-Wren’s criminal division more than 20 years ago, held during the lunch hour and without the aid of any federal funding. More than 20 years later, there are more than 400 mental health courts nationwide.

The hardcover book, published by Beacon Press, is available at Barnes and Nobel and Amazon.

The granddaughter of honoree Attorney Raleigh Rawls attended the Circuit’s Black History Month: Broward’s Legal Firsts program in mid-February, as part of the Urban League’s National Achiever’s Society of Broward County. She and her Achiever comrades were able to see first-hand how hard work and perseverance benefited the honored “Broward’s Firsts,” making the possibility of serving in the courts in the near future a concrete possibility for the students.

Judge Diaz recently participated in Career Day at Millenium Middle School where he spoke to five classes about a career in law.