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Judges recognize Florida's county judicial assistants with high honor

The county court judicial assistants of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court, and all county court judicial assistants throughout Florida, were recognized with the Non-Judicial Award at the Conference for County Court Judges of Florida’s annual meeting in July. It is the highest award possible for non-judicial members.

Sarasota County Judge Dana Moss, joined by most of the Twelfth Circuit’s county-court bench, presented our local county court judicial assistants with their awards in a brief, virtual ceremony August 12.

The award is presented to an individual who has “gone above and beyond her or his call of duty and is extraordinarily supportive of the conference of county court judges.”

Judge Moss said the county court judicial assistants received the high honor for their support during the pandemic and ensuring the public still had access to the courts.

In Florida, county courts are considered the people’s courts because it is where many cases enter the court system: criminal and civil traffic offenses; landlord-tenant disputes; violations of county or city laws; misdemeanor criminal cases; and small claims cases.

Judicial assistants, or JAs as they are referred to in the court system, are both sentry and ambassador as the public-facing side of the judge’s office. JAs shield their judge from ex-parte communications, ensuring that their judge only reviews documents or pleadings that have been provided to all parties to a case.

JAs are called upon to handle panicked, urgent, emotional, or sometimes angry calls from litigants and others interested in cases before the court. But the JAs remain steadfast in the Florida State Courts System’s vision: making justice accessible, fair, effective, responsive, and accountable.

JAs keep the judge’s office running efficiently: in 15-minute increments, they fine-tune their calendar (re)setting hearings, preparing dockets and scheduling trials, like a maestro conducting an orchestra.

When Zoom hearings became the norm last year, JAs became IT specialists, Judge Moss said. The JAs faced a learning curve themselves navigating the new application, and in some instances had to teach the application to their judge or litigants. JAs directed virtual hearings, placed parties into Zoom waiting rooms and drafted orders while listening to the days’ proceedings.

When people talk about the court system, the judge often gets the attention, but “it takes a team” to move cases through the system, Judge Moss said. “Clerks, deputies, JAs, and Court Administration, all these other parts make it happen,” Judge Moss said.

“I want to personally thank our amazing team of judicial assistants. They are the unsung heroes. Their tireless dedication has contributed to the success of the Twelfth Judicia Circuit in maintaining open access to courts during the pandemic,” Judge Moss said.

Before the ceremony ended, Sarasota County Judge Phyllis Galen told the JAs, “We appreciate what you do for us, day in and day out, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

The honorees