[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E394-E395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COMMENDING THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2011

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Eleventh 
Judicial Circuit of Florida for 100 years of dedicated service to our 
South Florida community. For a century, it has amassed a distinguished 
history of honorable service to the people of Miami-Dade County. I have 
the great privilege of representing the 18th Congressional District of 
Florida which falls within the boundaries of the Eleventh Judicial 
Circuit.
  The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is the largest circuit in the state of 
Florida and the fourth largest trial court in the United States. The 
circuit is one of 20 in the state. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit's 
jurisdiction consists of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and has 123 
circuit and county court judges presiding and over 14,000 attorneys 
serving a county wide population of over 2.5 million people. The 
court's philosophy is written on a placard that appears above the bench 
in each courtroom with the words, ``We Who Labor Here Seek Only 
Truth.''
  When Florida entered into statehood in 1845, the state was served by 
only four judicial circuits: North, South, East, and West. The Southern 
Circuit spanned thousands of square miles, covering Dade, Monroe, 
Hillsborough, and Benton counties, and was served by only one circuit 
judge. The judge had the daunting task of traveling by train, boat, or 
horse across thousands of square miles to serve the entire circuit. In 
1868, Florida's legislature replaced the four compass point circuits 
with seven numbered circuits. A constitutional amendment added an 
eighth circuit in 1902.
  Florida's growing population soon created a need for additional 
circuits; so in 1910, the people of the State of Florida amended their 
constitution to give the legislature the authority to create additional 
judicial circuits as needed. After considering several plans to 
restructure the state circuit court system, the legislature expanded 
the system to 11 circuits in 1911. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit was 
one of the state's three new circuits.
  Originally, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit served the counties of 
Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe. At the time, Dade County had a population 
of roughly 12,000 people and was growing steadily. The first judge of 
the Eleventh Judicial Circuit was Livingstone Wellesley Bethel, a first 
generation immigrant raised in Key West, who spent almost 40 years of 
his life in public service. Judge Bethel served the people of Florida 
in many capacities including mayor of Key West, Lieutenant Governor of 
Florida, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, 
and county and circuit judge.
  Our country was built on the foundation that all men are created 
equal and with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness. Our founding fathers took care to protect these 
and other fundamental rights, establishing a three branch federal 
government and state governments. They recognized the importance and 
need for a judicial system to provide checks and balances in order to 
protect the rights of citizens, stating in the preamble of our 
Constitution, ``We the People of the United States, in Order to form a 
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, 
provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure 
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for-the United States of America.'' A 
foundation of our judicial system is ``equal justice under law.'' Our 
federal and state courts work tirelessly to protect the rights of all 
Americans and are dedicated to carrying out the mandates of our 
Constitution.
  From its modest beginnings in 1911, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit has 
grown to be one of our nation's most highly respected and important 
legal jurisdictions. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is celebrating its 
rich history and legacy through centennial celebrations that include 
special artwork, a reenactment of the historic 1930 Al Capone perjury 
trial, and an overview of the civil rights movement in the Eleventh 
Judicial Circuit. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is one of busiest and 
most prestigious

[[Page E395]]

jurisdictions in our nation, and is recognized as a beacon of justice. 
The circuit fully embodies the commitment of our nation to provide 
``equal justice under law.'' For the last 100 years, the men and women 
presiding over the Eleventh Judicial Circuit have served the people of 
South Florida with honor and distinction. I thank the judges, 
attorneys, and staff of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit for their 
commitment to justice and the rule of law.
  The current members of the court are:


         CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

  Barbara Areces; Antonio Arzola; Jerald Bagley; Jennifer D. Bailey; 
Mary Barzee Flores; Scott M. Bernstein; Stanford Blake; Beth Bloom; 
Joel H. Brown, Chief Judge; Beatrice Butchko; Marcia B. Caballero; 
Gisela Cardonne Ely; Jeri B. Cohen; Yvonne Colodny; Jorge E. Cueto; 
Abby Cynamon; Maria Espinosa Dennis; Reemberto Diaz; Amy Steele Donner; 
Ronald Dresnick; Pedro P. Jr. Echarte; Spencer Eig; Joseph P. Farina; 
Ivan F. Fernandez; Jose L. Fernandez; Leon M. Firtel; Gill S. Freeman; 
Darrin P. Gayles; Michael A. Genden; Mindy S. Glazer; Stacy D. Glick; 
Monica Gordo; Milton Hirsch; Jacqueline Hogan Scola; Julio Jimenez; 
Sandy Karlan; Maria M. Korvick; Maxine Cohen Lando; Lester Langer; Mark 
King Leban; Cindy S. Lederman; Ellen Leesfield; Peter R. Lopez; Valerie 
R. Manno Schurr; Antonio Marin; Bronwyn C. Miller; David C. Miller; 
Celeste H. Muir; Dennis J. Murphy; Victoria Platzer; Orlando A. 
Prescott; Israel Reyes; Jose M. Rodriguez; Rosa I. Rodriguez; Jorge 
Rodriguez-Chomat; Arthur L. Rothenberg; Samantha Ruiz-Cohen; Maria I. 
Sampedro-Iglesia; Migna Sanchez-Llorens; George A. Sarduy; Nushin G. 
Sayfie; John Schlesinger; Marc Schumacher; Lawrence A. Schwartz; Robert 
N. Jr. Scola; Bernard S. Shapiro; Victoria S. Sigler; Scott J. 
Silverman; Bertila Soto; William Thomas; John W. Thornton Jr.; Marisa 
Tinkler Mendez; Daryl E. Trawick; Dava J. Tunis; Ellen Sue Venzer; and 
Diane V. Ward.


    MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGES OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

  Victoria R. Brennan; Don S. Cohn; Joseph I. Jr. Davis; Victoria del 
Pino; Robin Faber; Rosa C. Figarola; Mary J. Francis; Gloria Gonzalez-
Meyer; Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson; Wendell M. Graham; Andrew S. Hague; 
Eric Hendon; Charles K. Johnson; Carroll J. Kelly; Lawrence D. King; 
Shelley J. Kravitz; Luise Krieger-Martin; Myriam Lehr; Steve Leifman; 
Norma S. Lindsey; Patricia Marino Pedraza; Cristina Miranda; Edward 
Newman; Maria D. Ortiz; Ana M. Pando; Gladys Perez; Catherine M. 
Pooler; Judith Rubenstein; Nuria Saenz; Caryn C. Schwartz; Jacqueline 
Schwartz; Sheldon R. Schwartz; Fred Seraphin; Lourdes Simon; Samuel J. 
Slom; Rodney Smith; Linda Singer Stein; Teretha Lundy Thomas; Lisa S. 
Walsh; Deborah White-Labora; and Andrea R. Wolfson.


             SENIOR JUDGES OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

  Mercedes Armas Bach; Eli Breger; Philip Cook; Robert M. Deehl; 
Charles D. Edelstein; Richard Y. Feder; Eugene J. Fierro; Ronald 
Friedman; Seymour Gelber; Norman S. Gerstein; Marvin H. Gillman; 
William E. Gladstone; Leonard E. Glick; Jon I. Gordon; Edward S. Klein; 
Judith L. Kreeger; Barbara S. Levenson; Richard V. Margolius; Robert H. 
Newman; Thomas K. Petersen; Steven D. Robinson; Jeffrey Rosinek; Alan 
R. Schwartz; Martin Shapiro; Roger A. Silver; Stuart M. Simons; Raphael 
Steinhardt; Herbert Stettin; and David L. Tobin.

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