Local Channel 7 news covered yesterday’s Informed Voters Workshop for Tomorrow’s Leaders event, held for local area high school students from across the county. View the clip:

Friday, February 22, 2019, the 17th Judicial Circuit and the Broward County Bar Association hosted “A Celebration of Black History – Civil Rights Movement and the Criminal Justice System in Florida – The Struggle Continues,” an event to honor Broward County’s black judges, both present and past.

Last week, several students from Hallandale High School’s Criminal Justice Magnet Program visited the central courthouse for a morning of court observation and discussions with members of the judiciary. Judge Jackie Powell took a few minutes during her bond court docket to greet the students and answer their questions, as did Judge Florence Barner in county civil, Judge Michael Orlando in juvenile delinquency and Judge Ari Porth in felony mental health.

Several new hearing officers joined the Seventeenth Circuit’s program at the end of 2018, bringing the number of Broward County’s Traffic Hearing Officers to 23. The Traffic Hearing officers assist County Court Judges with the large caseload of traffic infractions, resolving in excess of 20,000 civil infraction cases per month. Bi-monthly training is a requirement, and the group recently participated in a lunch and learn training course.

More information on the program, including the court schedule, can be found by Clicking Here.

For more information and to register to attend, please Click Here.

The investiture of the Honorable Shari Africk Olefson was held Friday, February 15, 2019. She was sworn in by Chief Judge Jack Tuter, and robed by her family. Judge Africk Olefson won her seat by election and serves in the Juvenile Dependency division. Congratulations!