Summer 2014 | Volume 19, Issue 3 The Docket Call OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT...

Summer 2014 | Volume 19, Issue 3

The Docket CallTHE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA

What’s InsideProfessionalism seminars ... Pg. 2

Employees of the Quarter ... Pg. 4

Judicial Profile ... Pg. 5

Personnel Update ... Pg. 10

Calendar of Events ... Pg. 10

PresidentObamanominatedCarlosE.JudgeMendozaonFeb.6tobecomeaU.S.DistrictCourtJudgefortheMiddleDistrictofFlorida.TheU.S.Senate confirmed his nomination by a

JudgeMendozadepartsandthreetojoinbench

voteof94to0onJune24andthepresidentialcom-missionwasmadethree days later. JudgeMendoza quickly startedworkinOr-lando,butreturnedtoPalatkaforaJuly 15 farewell party.

Circuit Judge Clyde E. Wolfe transferred from St. Johns County to Put-nam County on Aug. 4 to take over the criminal felony division. TheJudicialNominatingCommis-sionacceptedapplicationsforthecircuitjudge vacancy until Sept. 3. Interviews arescheduledforlateSeptember. StateRep.CharlesDavid“Dave”Hood Jr. was appointed by Gov. Scott to fill the vacancy created by Circuit Judge David Beck’s retirement on Sept. 30. Judge-designateHoodwillbeginworkinOctober.Rep.HoodservedasOrmondBeach Mayor and a City Commissioner before his 2012 election to the Florida House.

HewillhavehisinvestitureonSept. 26 at 3:30 p.m. at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center, 399 N. U.S. Highway 1, Ormond Beach. Hood had also qualified as a judicialcandidateandhisappointmentleft Michael Orfinger as the automatic winnerintheracefortheCircuitJudge,Group 6 seat, from which Circuit Judge R.MichaelHutchesonisretiring. Michael Orfinger is a media-tor with Upchurch Watson White & Max. His father, the late Melvin Orfinger, wasa7thCircuitjudgeandoneoftheoriginaljudgesontheFifthDistrictCourtof Appeal. His brother, Richard Orfinger, is also aformer7thCircuitjudge

andsitsontheappellatecourt. Judge-elect Michael Orfinger willjointhebenchonJan.6alongwithhislawpartnerandfellowmediator,Sandy Upchurch. An attorney since 1994, Upchurch was unopposed in her bid for the Circuit Judge, Group 24 seat, from which Circuit Judge Terry LaRue is retiring. She is currently the Board of Governors representative for 7thJudicialCircuitintheFloridaBar.

Hood OrfingerUpchurch

PretrialServicesgainsre-accreditation The Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission approved re-accredita-tion for Volusia County Pretrial Services on June 24 in Bonita Springs. Pretrial Services assesses and supervises qualified defendants who are re-leased from jail while their criminal cases are pending. The office first received accreditation in 2008 and earned re-accreditation in 2011. Accreditation means the office has met standards in personnel policies, or-ganizationandmanagement,generalprinciplesgoverningthepretrialprocess,first appear-ance,releaseconditionsandelectron-icmonitoring.Duringthe fiscal year 2013-14, the office handledandclosed nearly 4,000cases,with98.6percentofdefendantsmakingtheircourtappear-ances.

At the award presentation were (from left to right): Valerie Trunzo, Jo-sephine Sanders, Michael Reed, Criminal Court Services Manager Shirley Olson, Joey Sterthaus, retired Sheriff Robert “Bob” Peryam, Cheryl Ditolla, Jannine Kilgard and Commission Executive Director Lori Mizell.

| The Docket Call | Summer 2014 | Volume 19, Issue 3

Some 165 people attended theProfessionalismCLEseminarsheldthroughout Volusia County from May 1 through May 8. Thefourlunchtimeseminarswereorganized by Volusia County Court JudgeBelleSchumann,chairofthe7thCircuitProfessionalismCommittee,andthe Volusia County Bar Association. Severaljudgesspokeaspanelistsfortheseminars,whichfocusedondiffer-entareasofthelaw.

JudgesspeakatlocalseminarsonProfessionalism

The panel on “Criminal Law Professionalism in Plea Negotiations” included (from left to right) State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Public Defender Jim Purdy, Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson and Volusia County Court Judge Belle Schumann.

The “Dependency and Delinquency Perspectives on Professionalism” panel included Slade Dukes, Florida Dept. of Children and Families; Ra-chel Goetzelman, Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel; Circuit Judges Thomas Portuallo and Terry LaRue; Assistant Public Defender Leon Kazanzas; Assistant State Attorney Kristin DePaula and former Assistant State Attorney Ashley McKinnis.

Above photo: Members of the panel on “Family Law - a View from All Sides in the Name of Professionalism” were Lisa Starks, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols, Paul Rice Jr. and Circuit Judge Matt Foxman.

Photo at right: Offering “Civil Law Perspectives on Profes-sionalism” were panelists Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols, Michael Kelton, Kim Booker and Circuit Judge Robert K. Rouse Jr.


The inaugural 5K Run/Walk for Recovery, co-hosted by Volusia County Drug Court, turned out to beagreatsuccess. Some 263 people participated in the May 3 event at the Volusia County Courthouse Annex at City Island in Daytona Beach. Stewart Marchman Act Behavioral Health-care, the Daytona Beach Cubs and Drug Court presented the event. RaceSmith, Inc. tracked and compiled the official times.

Judge Joe Will with wife Lynne

Cubby, the Daytona Beach Cubs mascot, celebrates a great event with race orga-nizers Wendy Truax (center) and Sharon Davis.

Zachary Petrizzo of Ormond Beach won the race.

5K Photos courtesy of Cheri Peltier

5K Run/Walk for Recovery

It was high noon on a Friday in the middle of June when the competition wasset. Teams from Volusia County Drug Court and DUI Court played against each other in a softball game on June 20 at the Port Orange City Center. It turned into a fun opportunity to build camaraderie for the teams.

DUI Court won, with a score of 9 to 7.

Photos by Mark Mathieson

SOFTBALL

Third quarter 2014 nominations must be received by Sept. 19. Please send nominations to the attention of Anne Landolfa, Personnel, Courthouse Annex, 125 E. Orange Ave., Suite 300, Daytona Beach 32114. You may also email your nominations to [email protected].

Employees of the Quarter: Marlene Germany and Melanie Ryder

One-on-One with Marlene Germany

Title: DigitalCourtReporter

Location: St. Johns County

HasworkedforCourtAdministration:four years (two years in St. Johns County Juvenile Drug Court and two years in Digital Recording)

Previousworkexperience:four years with the Putnam County Clerk of Courts

Duties:We monitor live court in St. Johns and Putnam counties any time there is not a stenographer for all crimi-nal cases and some family, dependency, delinquency and generalmagistratecases.

Bestpartofthejob:“It’s seeing how the criminal justice system works from beginning to end. You get to see an array of different types of cases and learn how the cases work out. You also get to see the different roles that each party plays in the courtroom.”

Personal:“I’m married with three children and two step-children, so my life outside work usually involves my kids’ hobbies, going to the gym for my daughter or the soccer field for my son. We also like the beach and neighbor-hoodbarbecues.”


One-on-One with Melanie Ryder

Title: DigitalCourtReporter

Location:St. Johns County

HasworkedforCourtAdministration:two years

Previousworkexperience:bookkeeping, office admin-istration

Duties:We monitor live court in St. Johns and Putnam counties any time there is not a stenographer for all crimi-nal cases and some family, dependency, delinquency and generalmagistratecases.

Bestpartofthejob:“We see some interesting things in court. I think it’s interesting to hear everything that is go-ing on because we monitor more than one courtroom. We have a variety of cases to follow.”

Personal:“I have two teenage daughters, ages 17 and 19. I love music. I play several instruments (clarinet, alto saxophone and handbells). I also love to read, from all differentgenres.”

Melanie Ryder (left) and Marlene GermanyPhoto by Mary Bratos

Court Administration is pleased to an-nounce that Marlene Germany and Melanie Ryder are the Employees of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2014.

They are the Digital Court Reporting team in St. Johns County and they monitor courtrooms in both St. Johns and Putnam counties. They were nominated for consistently handling a very heavy workload well. They were also lauded for great productivity and excellent customer service, with the nomination citing specific examples of having com-pleted expedited requests for customers quickly.


Judicial Profile: Circuit Judge Raul A. ZambranoPart of a series of judicial profiles from around the Circuit

Q: Why did you emigrate to the U.S. from Panama? My father’s goal in life was to come to this country and become someonewhoisrespected.Thatwashis dream. I think by sending me here he felt he fulfilled his own dream because he lived his life vicariously throughme. I came here when I was 14 to Dubuque, Iowa. When I went to high school, I started in tenth grade not knowing any English at all. I only spoke Spanish. I had to go to school andlearnthelanguageandlearnthetopicatthesametime,whichwasalittle easier for math than for history or even science. It took me about six monthstolearnthelanguage.

Q: Why did you study aviation? I went to Embry-Riddle Aero-nautical University because I wanted to fly naval jets but that dream went by quick. The Navy has very high standards and you had to have 20/20 vision. By my second year of college, I had 20/30 vision. I kept going and I have a bachelor’sandtwomaster’sdegreesandallofthemareaviationrelated.As a pilot, I have a commercial instru-ment rating. I could have gone into the airlines,butlifehappens.

Q: Why did you go into law? I lost a bet with my father. When it was time to make a deci-sion about the next step, I wanted to get a PhD and my father said, “Why don’t you apply to law school?” I said I would only apply to one and if they take me, I’ll go. If they don’t take me, I’m not going. I applied to Stetson University. From Stetson, I went straight into the State Attorney’s Office in DeLand in 1990. One of the reasons involved my high school band teacher. His daughter was murdered in my se-nior year. I had to watch him struggle

throughthat.That really leftamarkonmeasfaraspeoplegettingvictim-ized. When I becamealawyer, I wanted to find

outhowprosecutionworked.LittledidI know I would stay there for 15 years. I enjoyed what I did.

Q: Why did you become a judge? The opportunity presented it-self. If it was ever going to happen for me, the timing was then. When oppor-tunity knocks, you better recognize it and open the door. It was the natural progression of a career. But I didn’t envision myself a judge. I had great mentors. I was really blessed to meet people like Richard Watson and Kim Hammond andPopeHamrickandbecolleaguesofpeoplelikethat. One thing I said during my investiture, I’m not going to let this job change who I am. I never have and I don’t think I ever will. I don’t let this job get to my head. I’m just here to call balls and strikes. I’m not here totellpeoplehowtopitchorhowtoswingattheball.

Q: You started as judge in Flagler County. I enjoyed Flagler immensely. Being in a small community is different. But you also have a degree of social responsibility as a judge and that becameapparenttomethere. I handled a divorce case. It’s Thanksgiving eve and the woman wantedtoseeherchildren,butnobody wanted to supervise her. I decided to OK visitation at someone else’s home. The whole day I was wor-ried sick but everything went perfectly.

Maybe only a month later, the woman died. I started thinking back to that day. At least she had a chance to spend some time with her children because I don’t thinkshewouldhaveseenherchildren. I thought Flagler should have a placewherepeoplecanseetheirkidswhen adults don’t get along. It was just importantformetoletpeoplehavethe opportunity to have a meaningful relationshipwiththeirkids.That’swheretheideafortheVisitationCentercameabout. I mentioned to the Safety Coun-cil that this was important because why should people travel to St. Augustine or Daytona Beach to get on a waiting list to see their kids. It’s going to materialize in the next few of months.

Q: Tell me about your musical background. Starting in fourth grade, I start-ed playing drums. When I got to seventh grade, they started a band and made me a trumpet player. I also know how to play the piano. Judge Hammond tried to teach me to play the bagpipe. I played the handbells at my church up until last year. I play Taps at the Sept. 11 cer-emony in Palm Coast and I’ve played the national anthem numerous times. I played the anthem the day after I became a U.S. citizen. I was sworn at Disney World at Epcot Center on July 4, 2002. It was a beautiful ceremony. Then on July 5th, I came to work and I went to the flagpole and I told the workers I would play the national anthem as they raised the flag. They didn’t think I could play it but I did.

Photo by Carl Laundrie/Fla-gler County government


Congratulations / Items of InterestChief Justice Jorge LaBarga was sworn in as the 56th Chief Justice of Florida on June 30, succeeding Justice Ricky Polston. He had served as a trial judge in Palm Beach County before becoming a Justice on the Florida Su-preme Court five years ago. A native of Cuba, he is the first person of Hispanic descent to lead the state judicial branch.

Elisabeth (Lisa) Goodner retired as the Florida State Courts Administrator. Patricia (PK) Jameson was selected as her successor and became the seventh Florida State Courts Administrator since the position was created in 1972.

Volusia County Court Judge Belle Schumann received the 2014 Volusia League of Cities President’s Award and the John C. Allen Jr. Humanitar-ian Service Award from Halifax Urban Ministries (pictured at left receiv-ing award from Halifax Urban Ministries Executive Director Troy Ray). Both awardsweregiveninrecognitionofherworkregardinghomelessnessandher efforts to support a new Safe Harbor Transitional Shelter. (Photo cour-tesy of Halifax Urban Ministries)

Flagler County Teen Court Coordinator Marian Irvin received the Power of One award from the Flagler County School Board. The award, presented by Board Chair Andy Dance (on her left) and Superintendent of Schools Jacob Oliva (on her right) recognized her two decades of work in running Teen Court. (Photo courtesy of Sa-brina Crosby, Flagler County School District) At a separate occasion, the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners recognized Teen CourtforitsrecentwininaMockTrialcompetition.

Circuit Judges Margaret Hudson and Raul Zambrano presented Criminal Law Update at the Annual Circuit Judges conference in July. Sr. Case Manager Courtney Pringle was a Foreclosure Update presenter at the Trial Court Administrators conference.

The winners of the “Why I Love Putnam County” essay contest include (from left to right) Pamela N. Pal-ermo, Sharon Proctor, award presenter and Daily News Publisher Wayne Knuckles and Robert Massey. Photo by Chris Devitto/Pal-atka Daily News

PamelaPalermo,administrativeassistant,was tied for second place in the “Why I Love Putnam County” essay contest. The contest was presented by LOGIC (Lo-cal Government In Cooperation) and was sponsored by the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, Putnam County School District and the Palatka Daily News. The winning essays were published in the newspaper on June 11.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of Drug Courts. To mark the occasion, Chief Justice Ricky Polston and the Florida Supreme Court issued a proclamation recognizing National Drug Court Month, May 2014. Governor Scott and the Florida Cabinet issued a similar reso-lution. Proclamations and resolutions were also issued by county and municipal governments throughoutthecircuit.


A new portrait of Fifth District Court of Appeal Judge Wendy W. Berger was unveiled May 15 at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center. The St. Johns County Bar Association sponsored theunveilingoftheportraitofJudgeBerger,whoservedas a circuit judge for more than seven years before her appointment to the appellate court in September 2012. HerportraithangsinCourtroom264,whichhadbeenhercourtroomduringhercircuittenure.

BrookePalmer,judicialassistanttoJudgeHudson,marriedDonMcCormick on July 5.

The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane season outlook indicates that a “near-nor-mal” or “below-normal” hurricane season is likely this year. For the quarter beginning July 1, 2014, the Chief Financial Officer set the rate of interest payable on judgments or decrees at 4.75% per annum or a daily rate of .000130137. The interest rate for payments to health care providers remains at 1% per month or a daily rate of .0003333.

ShirtsbearingtheSeventhJudicialCircuitCourt’slogoareavailableforpurchase.Order forms may be obtained from Human Resources.

Photo by Ralph Cumberbatch

2015 Holiday Schedule

Thursday, Jan. 1 New Year’s DayMonday, Jan. 19 Martin Luther King, Jr. DayFriday, Apr. 3 Good FridayMonday, May 25 Memorial DayFriday, July 3 Independence Day (observed)Monday, Sept. 7 Labor DayWednesday, Sept. 23 Yom KippurWednesday, Nov. 11 Veterans DayThursday, Nov. 26 & Friday, Nov. 27

Thanksgiving

Thursday, Dec. 24 & Friday, Dec. 25

Christmas

FACILITYIMPROVEMENTS

The project to replace the roof at the City Island Courthouse Annex in Daytona Beach has been com-pleted.

New carpet was installed in Rooms 300 and 301 at City Island. Wallpaper was removed and the walls resurfaced and painted in Room 309.

Walls were patched and painted and new furniture was purchased for the U/A Lab at 250 N. Beach St. in Daytona Beach.

In DeLand, the wallpaper was removed and the walls resurfacedandpaintedinthejudgesconferenceroom(4th floor, tower) at the Volusia County Courthouse.

Renovations to courtrooms and public hallways con-tinue at the Putnam County Courthouse.

The Courtsin our

Community

As part of the Seventh Judicial Circuit’s diversity efforts, judicial and Court Administration personnel work in the community to create a heightened awareness of the courts system through informative talks and tours.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Community Outreach Speakers’ Bureau, have information regarding a past speaking en-gagement, or know of a community group that would be interested in hearing about the Court, please contact Ludi Lelis at (386) 943-7074 or [email protected].

YouthandSchools

May 1 - Seventh-grade students from St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Ormond Beach observed court before Judge Judy Davidson.

May 1 - Judge John Alexander spoke to about 93 high school students at the annual Character Counts awards banquet.

May 15 – Judge Dawn Fields spoke at the senior recognition ceremony for the FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools.


May 15 – Orange City Elementary School students visited the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand and learned about criminal court from Assistant State Attorney Shannon Peters and Public Defender Jim Purdy. ThegroupthenconductedamocktrialwithJudgeDawnNicholspresid-ing.

May 16 - Volunteers for the Guardian Ad Litem program toured the UA labinDeLand.

May 22 – Stetson University students observed criminal hearings before Judge Margaret Hudson and toured the UA lab.

May 23 – Judge Scott Dupont spoke to graduating seniors of Palatka High School. He also spoke to the seniors of Crescent City and Interlachen high schools that week.

May 30 – Judge Dawn Fields was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony in Ormond Beach for the PACE Center for Girls Volusia-Flagler.

June 6 – Seabreeze High School graduate Emily Carnes, whose fight against breast cancer had been featured in the news, visited the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. She hopes to become a judge one day and met Judges Margaret Hudson and Frank Marriott, observed a trial before Judge Marriott and met Assistant State Attorney David Cromartie and Assistant Public Defender Scott Swain.

June 17 – Judge Jim Clayton spoke to Boy Scouts attending the Central Florida Eagle Encampment at Camp Ithiel near Orlando.

June 27 – A group attending the Lighthouse Ancient City Explorers summer camp, or-ganized through the St. Johns Educational Foundation, visited the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center and conducted a mock trial with attorney Josh S. Alexander presid-ing.

July 31 – The Cub Scouts of Pack 340 from DeBary and Deltona visited the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand and observed traffic court before John Pascucci.


Aug. 12 - A YMCA summer camp group visited the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand and observed juvenile delinquency hearings with Judge Jim Clay-ton. The group also toured the UA lab, visited the basementjailandobservedatrialbeforeJudgeMargaretHudson.

CommunityOrganizations

Feb. 10 – Anne Landolfa was a panelist at a workshop entitled “The Science Behind Employee Motivation” at the National Association of Court Management Mid Year Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

May 9 - Circuit Judge William Parsons and his daughter, Kelly Parsons Kwiatek, conducted the judicial branch training for the Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce leadership class. Judge Raul Zambrano spoke to the class about mortgage foreclosures and Judge Christopher Kelly talked about how county court works. The session included a sentencing workshop andacivilmocktrialinvolvingthetortofoutrage.Theclassalsolearnedabouttheoperationofourcircuitandtheselec-tionandretentionoftrialandappellatejudges.

June 5 – Chief Judge Terence Perkins spoke at the 18th annual Florida Liability Claims Conference, presented by Florida Liability Claims Institute in Lake Buena Vista.

July 17 – Judge Walsh spoke to the Flagler County Citizens Academy at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center.

The Community Partnership for Children (CPC) and Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida have col-laborated with Family Court Services to establish a programthatwillprovidelegalassistanceandsocialassistance to self-represented litigants filing Peti-tions for Temporary Custody by Extended Family in Volusia County.

Any self-represented litigant filing a Temporary Custody by Extended Family petition may receive information on if they qualify for these services by calling CPC at (386) 238-4900.

Self-HelpstaffineachofourVolusialocationswillprovidetheinformationtoself-representedlitigantsfiling Chapter 751 petitions.

It is expected that in the future this program will expand to Flagler and Putnam Counties as well.

The Docket CallTerenceR.PerkinsChiefJudge

Mark A. WeinbergCourt Administrator

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA

Articles, comments or inquiries may be addressed to:LudmillaLelis

Editor,TheDocketCallVolusia County Courthouse

101 N. Alabama Ave.DeLand, FL [email protected]


CalendarofEvents

Sept.1 - Labor Day (Holiday)

Sept.3-5 - Child Protection Summit (Orlando)

Sept.12- Circuit / County Judges Meeting (Pal-atka)

Sept.16-19 - Judicial Assistants Conference (Ponte Vedra Beach)

Sept.19 - Volusia County Court Judges Meeting (Daytona Beach)

Sept.25 - Rosh Hashanah (Holiday)

Sept.26 - Judge Hood’s Investiture (Ormond Beach)

Oct.3 - Circuit Judges Meeting (Bunnell)

Oct.16-17 - Trial Court Staff Attorney Confer-ence (West Palm Beach)

Oct.17 - Volusia County Court Judges Meeting (Daytona Beach)

PERSONNEL UPDATE - 2nd quarterHiresSuzanne Southard, Administrative Assistant, Drug Court/ Volusia, 4/1Sandra Mitchell, Digital Court Reporter, Court Reporting/ Volusia, 5/5Aja Taylor, Court Program Specialist, Foreclosure/Volusia, 6/16Lyndsey Wilkinson, JA – Judge DuPont/Putnam, 6/27 Julie Sawyer, Office Assistant II, PTS/Volusia, 7/7

Separations/RetirementsMelissia Anderson, Office Assistant, PTS/Volusia, 4/17 Jamal Goodrich, Law Clerk/Volusia, 4/17Jessica Burgdorf, JA-Judge DuPont/Putnam, 5/30Eva Rulapaugh , Court Reporter, Flagler, 6/20

Thanks to everyone who donated at the recent blood drives. The May 19 blood drive at the Volusia County Court-house Annex at City Island in Daytona Beach was the biggest ever organized through Court Administration. There were 26 donors for the drive, which was held jointly with the 5th District Court of Appeal and the S. James Foxman Justice Center. Ac-cording to OneBlood, that saved the lives of about 61 patients. The “Guns N’ Hoses” drive (law enforcement and fire-fighters) on Aug. 19 at the Volusia County Courthouse inDeLandcollected24units. The next blood drivesinDeLandaresetforFriday, Oct.24and Thursday, Dec.18.

Summer 2014 | Volume 19, Issue 3 The Docket Call OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT...

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