Posts

On Friday, May 10, 2019, the Seventeenth Circuit celebrated the investiture of Judge Susan L. Alspector, circuit court judge serving in the felony domestic violence division. She was sworn in by Chief Judge Jack Tuter, and robed by her family.

Congratulations Judge Alspector!

Judge Keathan Frink was speaker and moderator for a program at the American Bar Association Section of Litigation & Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division CLE Conference earlier this month in New York, NY.  He spoke on a program entitled “Judge, What Do You Want to Hear? Presenting a Bench Trial.”

Judge Jose Izquierdo was part of an adoption historic first for the Seminole Tribal Court. Read the article to find out more!

This weekend, Judge DiPietro, Judge Porth and Judge Schulman took part in the 5th Annual Run for the Angels 5K. The course took runners over taxiways and a runway at the Pompano Beach airpark. The run was in support of Angel Flight Southeast, an organization that arranges free air transportation for charitable and medical needs.

Judge Michael Davis hosted and judged the mock trial competition for the students of the Classical Conversation program last week. The middle schoolers from Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Miami Shores competed in Judge Davis’ courtroom in the South satellite courthouse in Hollywood. According to the judge, the children “were amazing!”

Last week, Judge Florence Barner and Judge Tarlika Navarro spoke to a group from Women in Networking Know about community court and family division services in the Seventeenth Circuit.

The Seventeenth Circuit held a Resource Fair for our Expanded Self Help Center today, in part to celebrate the one year anniversary of its start! What was once merely a dream has become a highly successful tool in facilitating people’s access to services that they need, all under one roof. The Self Help Center is comprised of Women in Distress, Coast to Coast Legal Aid, Henderson Behavioral Health, 211 Broward and South Florida Wellness Network.

Since the opening of the Self Help Center, Women in Distress has assisted an average of 71 persons each month; 211 Broward has assisted an average of 38 persons per month; South Florida Wellness Network has averaged 18 people per month; Henderson Mental Health has averaged 57 people per month; and Coast to Coast Legal Aid has assisted an average of 322 persons per month. These numbers show that having the different agencies all under one roof has enabled countless people to navigate their way to the services that they need.

We are so proud of the Self Help Center and the wonderful work that has been done and look toward reaching out to even more people in the future.

County Court Judge Jackie Powell had her investiture ceremony on Friday, April 26, 2019. She was sworn in by Chief Judge Jack Tuter, and robed by her husband, son, daughter, and grandchild.

Judge Powell is the circuit’s first appearance judge, presiding over bond court in the central courthouse.

Congratulations Judge Powell!

Last week, students from Apollo Middle School’s Advanced Civics class visited the central courthouse for a tour and courtroom observation. At the end of their visit, the group was treated to a 20th floor, ocean view photo op.

Please be advised, effective April 15, 2019, The Seventeenth Circuit will expand the Pilot Program to allow Self Scheduling of Criminal Hearings for all Circuit Criminal Divisions in the Court Management System.

Click the Training Video below to learn more.