Announcements
A group of students from the Women of Tomorrow program at Dillard High School came to the 17th Circuit courthouse for a guided tour on Friday, December 1, 2023.
The young women spoke with Judges Michael J. Orlando, Giuseppina Miranda, Lauren M. Alperstein, and Michael A. Robinson in their courtrooms and observed trial happening in real time.
The Middle School students of Central Charter School came to visit the 17th Circuit courthouse for a guided tour on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
Students spoke with the Honorable Elijah H. Williams, Lauren M. Alperstein, and Jackie Powell.
The students spent time with each judge during a question and answer session, and had the opportunity to participate in a mini mock trial.
The 17th Judicial Circuit honored National Adoption Day on Saturday, November 18, 2023. With several thousand children needing to be adopted in the United States, 24 were adopted that day at the 17th Judicial Circuit courthouse. Chief Judge Jack Tuter and Judges Hope Tieman Bristol, Yael Gamm, Stacy Schulman and Alberto Ribas participated in the adoption ceremonies that took place.
In addition to the judges, there were several Unified Family Court Staff Members that assisted with the adoption ceremonies including Program Coordinator for Early Childhood Court & Dependency Drug Court Trent Baker, Court Operations Manager for Juvenile Delinquency & Dependency Yolanda Brown, Family Court Manager Elizabeth Bardfeld Kamphaus, Early Childhood Court Coordinator Tiffany Jackson, and Delinquency Court Supervisor Janelle May. The 17th Circuit also provided five therapy dogs for the ceremonies to provide comfort and support to those in need.
To learn more about this year’s Adoption Day and its outcome in Broward County, click on the link below:
https://bit.ly/AdoptDay23
The Honorable Robert W Lee was a featured guest on “This Week in South Florida with
Glenna Milberg” on Sunday, October 22, 2023.
The segment focuses on an informative discussion about the state of Florida’s plan to
merge judicial circuits. For more information on the plan and the full segment, click on
the link below:
The 17th Circuit’s Professionalism Panel met on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Panelists
met in person and remotely with an address given by Chief Judge Jack Tuter. The panel
was selected by the chief judge and consists of judicial officers and attorneys.
More information about the Professionalism Panel can be found at the link below:
https://bit.ly/17cirProPan
Students from the Pine Ridge Education Center came to visit the 17th Circuit Courthouse for a guided tour on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
Students met with Judge Elijah H. Williams, who spoke with students about the judicial process and how to become a judge. The students also met with Judges Ari Abraham Porth and Jackie Powell who both informed the group about the small claims and mental health courts processes and procedures.
Judge Betsy Benson was honored by Mayor of Broward County Lamar Fisher and the
coordinators of Community Court Pompano Beach with the key to Broward County on
Thursday, November 9, 2023.
Judge Benson received the honor for her hard work and dedication to serving the
community of Broward County and helping those in need.
Several 17th Circuit judges joined the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation and the Young Lawyers Section to participate in the annual Honorable E. Earle Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial Competition on Saturday, November 4 and Sunday, November 5, 2023.
Ten teams of Students from various law schools throughout the state competed to win, with Stetson University College of Law taking first place as the plaintiff team, and St Thomas University College of Law coming in second place as the defense team. Judicial staff that participated in the mock trail included Judges Elaine A. Carbuccia, Kenneth A. Gottlieb, Gary M. Farmer, Jr., Michele Towbin Singer, Jackie Powell, Francis Viamontes, Jessica M. Marra, and Magistrate Lucy Ramos Miller.
La Kita O’Donnell, Court Program Specialist III, represented the 17th Judicial Circuit
while attending a training titled “Purposes and Responsibilities of Courts”, hosted by the
9th Judicial Circuit.
The training covered several different topics including a review of the Magna Carta and
a full breakdown of the United States Constitution. Court Program Specialist III
O’Donnell was also on the winning team of an informative debate about AI and the
American Judicial System.
