On February 20, 2018, more than 100 people filled the Jury Assembly Room at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in Fort Pierce for the first night of the Your Courts Up Close program. The topics for the evening included an overview of the Florida Courts System with a more in depth review of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court System, along with a presentation regarding Basic Probate Procedures.
Chief Judge Metzger of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court System presented an overview of the Florida Courts System, including its organization and structure, locations and jurisdiction. She discussed her responsibilities as a Chief Judge, along with providing a listing of the other 27 circuit and county judges in the 19th Circuit and an overview of the types of cases they handle. She discussed the Specialty Court services provided through the 19th Circuit, which include Drug, Mental Health and Veteran’s Courts. She was pleased with the low recidivism rates achieved through the Specialty Court programs. Finally, she shared a video that showed how a Houston courthouse responded to closure following Hurricane Harvey. The audience was quite engaged with questions following her presentation.
Circuit Judge Croom provided a presentation entitled Basic Probate Procedures. In the presentation Judge Croom provided information regarding the function of the Probate Court, including an overview of the terms, rules, codes, statutes, processes and forms related to the Florida 19th Judicial Court System Probate Court. Judges Croom and Buchanan answered several questions from the audience following the presentation.
St. Lucie County Judge Isenhower, who developed Your Courts Up Close, was the host for the program and facilitated the question and answer periods throughout the evening. The next Your Courts Up Close event will be Tuesday, February 27, 2018.