The county courts are sometimes referred to as the people's courts, probably because a large part of the courts' work involves citizen disputes, such as traffic offenses, less serious criminal matters (misdemeanors), and relatively small monetary disputes (small claims). The jurisdiction of county courts extends to civil disputes involving $50,000 or less. The majority of non-jury trials in Florida take place before one judge sitting as a judge of the county court.County judges serve six-year terms. To be eligible for the office of county judge in a county the size of Seminole, a person must be an elector of the county and must have been a member of The Florida Bar for five years. County judges are eligible for assignment to circuit court, and they are frequently so assigned within the judicial circuit that includes their counties.
Campaign Phone
4074219599
Batson v Kentucky—the State can’t use a peremptory challenge to dismiss jurors based on race.
A judge, sitting as a trier of fact and law has to listen closely to the arguments of both sides, and be vigilant to ensure personal bias and prejudice does not influence the decision.
In private practice, I handled complex and heart wrenching situations involving domestic violence and abuse. I am particularly proud of my representation in those cases.
I believe it should be a tiered process. When the need arises, an appointment based on experience, candor, temperament, and self-comportment should be utilized. Then, it is essential the election cycle be used to test the appropriateness of the candidate to remain in office is essential.
The system currently in place does provide a mechanism for people to avail themselves of the courts. However, I believe mandatory pro bono service by attorneys is necessary to ensure access to legal advice.
Campaign Phone
407-431-0745
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Heath Organization. In this 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the longstanding precedent of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. The Dobbs decision held that there was no federal constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate and/or ban the medical procedure to the individual states. Overturning 50 years of well established precedent represented a landmark shift in jurisprudence.
A judge is legally bound to follow the law and binding legal precedent (controlling case law) even if the judge personally disagrees with the precedent. As societal standards evolve over time, the law is subject to being revised through legislative action or subsequent judicial decisions. Until such time as the binding legal precedent (controlling case law) changes, the judge is legally bound to follow the law consistent with their oath of office prior to taking the bench.
Alachua County Land Use Zoning Denial (SE ZX-01-21) and resulting settlement agreement. Provided pro bono legal representation to 43 African-American landowners to oppose a utility project that was incompatible with the fabric of a historic, rural, African-American community and historic African-American cemetery.
https://alachuachronicle.com/archer-residents-and-origis-energy-reach-agreement-to-find-new-site-for-solar-project/
The Florida Constitution requires our trial court judges (County and Circuit Court) to be elected. While appointments have purpose to fill a unexpected vacancy, the judicial vacancy process is being manipulated and gerrymandered (orchestrated retirements with delayed effective dates) across the State of Florida to take judicial elections away from the voters. In my case, I collected over 4,500 signed ballot petitions (over 1.3% of all Seminole County voters) before the 2026 Group 1 election got shifted to 2028 due to an unanticipated vacancy.
Consistent with the Florida Constitution, I believe that the voters, not Tallahassee, should determine who is best qualified to serve our local community as trial court judges.
A current barrier to justice in the court system is lack of access to the courts and congested court dockets. Both of these issues can be address by additional funding and resources for the courts (e.g., additional judges to address the population growth in Florida) along with adopting best practices for judicial docket management (mandatory aged case review) to help keep cases moving along and reduce the open case backlog.
