[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. ____________________