Chief Judge Charles Williams

Chief Judge Charles Williams
has joined the board of Embracing Our Differences

Embracing Our Differences is a not-for-profit organization that uses the transformational power of art and education to celebrate and promote the diversity of the human family.

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"We Need to Talk"...

Sarasota County Bar Association Diversity Committee Announces
Recipients of the 2017 Richard R. Garland Scholarship Awards

Sarasota County Bar Association Diversity Committee Announces
Recipients of the 2017 Richard R. Garland Scholarship Awards

The Sarasota County Bar Association, Inc. (SCBA) Diversity Committee is pleased to announce that law students Alexis Turner Garris and Tiffany Coleman are the recipients of the 2017 Richard R. Garland Diversity Scholarship of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc.

The Diversity Committee aims to increase diversity and inclusion in the Local Bar so that the Bar will reflect the demographics of our County and our State. Each year the Committee selects qualified law students of under-represented minorities, who have an interest in practicing law in Sarasota County upon graduation, and provides an opportunity for summer employment in both private law firms and governmental/judicial agencies in Sarasota County. Upon satisfactory completion of the 10 week summer employment program, each law student receives up to a $5,000 scholarship to their school.

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12th Judicial Circuit Pet Therapy Program
NextGen Magazine Cover

Judge Ed Nicholas helps inspire leaders of tomorrow

The students sitting at desks in our elementary schools today are the leaders of tomorrow. No one sees that more clearly than the Honorable Ed Nicholas, former president and long-time active member of the Bradenton Kiwanis.

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Judge Gilbert Smith
William C. Grimes Lifetime Achievement Award

Judge Gilbert Smith
William C. Grimes Lifetime Achievement Award

Judge Gilbert Smith, shown center, was presented the William C. Grimes Lifetime Achievement Award from the Manatee County Bar Association.

The award was presented to Judge Smith in advance of the June 28th Bar Association meeting since Judge Smith was unable to attend.

Calvin Duncan & Judge Bob Bennett
Growing up at Angola Prison

Judge Bob Bennett
Growing up at Angola

Judge Bennett's recollections of his childhood at Angola give us a glimpse into the years before the "Tough on Crime" era began, a time before public perception shifted from viewing inmates as individuals who had made mistakes to conceiving of all prisoners as predators

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