The committee prepared this article highlighting some of the men and women in robes who are dedicating their time to others, both on and off the bench.
Circuit Judge Karen Cole sets a high bar when it comes to community service and leadership. She is an active volunteer in many organizations, including Justice Teaching, American Inns of Court (Chester Bedell and Florida Family Law), Jacksonville Women’s Network, Nemours BrightStart!, and Jacksonville Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Collaborative.
She has organized numerous free community conferences on various topics, including reading/dyslexia, autism, mental health, domestic violence injunctions and diversity.
She is a mock trial team coach at The Bolles School and also hosts courthouse tours for students. As a former teacher, the common theme of her community initiatives is education.
Judge Cole’s service is most notable through her role as the Justice Teaching coordinator for the circuit. She has served this role since the program’s founding in 2006. Through the Justice Teaching initiative, more than 4,000 lawyer and judge volunteers in Florida have been trained in the use of interactive teaching methods and provided professionally prepared and age-appropriate classroom lessons about our nation’s legal system. Each volunteer is assigned one elementary, middle or high school, either public or private, and coordinates with the school’s social studies teachers, who choose the lessons they wish to have presented.
Many of Judge Cole’s students fled with their families from totalitarian rule in other countries. Teaching those students about democracy and the justice system is especially rewarding for her. “I love teaching ‘JT’” programs to students. she said. The programs are designed not only to educate about our state and federal constitutions, but also to foster respectful listening, critical thinking, and civic responsibility.
One particularly delightful aspect of the initiative is that, through volunteer encouragement and support, shy students often venture comments and become intrigued by the interactive process, she said.
Judge Cole was honored with the Justice Teaching Jurist of the Year Award at the annual Florida Bar Meeting in 2012.
Justice Teaching is a program established by Justice R. Fred Lewis of the state Supreme Court. To become a Justice Teaching volunteer, The Florida Bar members should contact Judge Cole at (904) 255-1261.
When he’s not in the courtroom, one can usually find Circuit Judge Waddell A. Wallace III teaching law school students and law clerks, basketball players or high school English students.
As the father of two boys, Judge Wallace has spent many years teaching others.
Continuing the tradition, Judge Wallace’s oldest son is a teacher at one of the best high schools in the country. As part of a special project, Judge Wallace’s son had his students watch “Murder on a Sunday Morning,” an Academy Award-winning documentary featuring the true story of Brenton Butler, a Jacksonville teen who was wrongfully accused of murder.
Judge Wallace presided over the case, which resulted in an acquittal of the youth. After the students watched the film, Judge Wallace traveled to speak to the students about the criminal justice system and his experience in the case.
Judge Wallace has taught Florida Constitutional Law at Florida Coastal School of Law. From those classes, many students have had the opportunity to clerk with Judge Wallace and assist in drafting opinions. One student helped draft an opinion which was later appealed and affirmed by the state Supreme Court.
Judge Wallace said he enjoys teaching and mentoring young people. He has spent many years coaching and refereeing youth basketball leagues through his church. In his free time, Judge Wallace also likes to mentor young people at The Sanctuary on 8th Street in Springfield. To volunteer at the Sanctuary on 8th Street, visit sanctuaryon8th.org.
Man’s best friend has recently become a useful therapeutic tool in the courthouse. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt, along with Sylvia Osewalt, developed a pet therapy program to support victims, witnesses and other courthouse visitors in various cases. According to the National Institutes of Health, pet therapy increases oxytocin hormone levels, which promotes social interaction, reduces stress and anxiety, and enhances human health. (See Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin, National Institutes of Health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/.)
Pet therapy is offered in other high-stress areas, such as treating veterans with PTSD, and in medical communities like Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the Mayo Clinic.
Judge Senterfitt notes pet therapy is very different than a service dog. Pet therapy animals are meant for human contact, while service animals should not be touched or distracted by others. In addition, therapy dogs are not as highly trained as service dogs, but have good dispositions and an interest in play and comforting others.
Developing the pet therapy program was a logical fit for Judge Senterfitt, who has always been an animal person. Her family has included dogs, cats, birds, fish and rabbits. She and her husband were introduced to “Hank,” their golden doodle, after her husband’s retirement from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Hank is friendly and likes other animals.
The pet therapy animals and their supportive owners are helping throughout the Duval County Courthouse. The program has 12 teams, which include a variety of dogs. Some dogs stroll the halls and comfort families and litigants, while others work in court.
Not long ago, Circuit Judge Tatiana Salvador allowed a pet therapy dog to comfort a child victim in a criminal case. Judge Senterfitt recalls that the dog entered the courtroom while the jury was excused and sat quietly in the child’s lap during testimony. The State Attorney’s Office also uses pet therapy dogs to help victims in the Special Assault Division. Circuit Judge David Gooding and Guardians ad Litems use pet therapy dogs to help families in dependency cases.
Judge Senterfitt hopes to expand the pet therapy program to work with juveniles and have a facility dog assigned to the courthouse.
Dog owners must complete an application and be fingerprinted in order to participate. Any dog may participate, but the animal should be laid back and have non-aggressive tendencies. The courthouse has allocated two parking spaces for volunteers. For more information, contact Judge Senterfitt at the Duval County Courthouse.
Circuit Judge John Guy is no stranger to public speaking. After 22 years as a prosecutor, he’s addressed hundreds of citizens in trial. He now presides over family law cases, which has a much smaller audience.
Judge Guy is still involved with public speaking by volunteering at high schools in Northeast Florida, including Lee, Mandarin, Eagle’s View Academy, St. Augustine High and others. The primary topic is the criminal justice system in America.
He is often asked to discuss his work on the Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman trials — two recent homicide cases that garnered national attention.
Other service activities include judging mock trial competitions and speaking to Boy Scouts about the importance of citizenship and community involvement.
Circuit Judge Angela Cox is not from a family of lawyers and she understands the importance of mentors for helping one achieve success.
She credits seven “aunts,” unrelated to her, in helping teach her fundamental skills such as etiquette, compassion, generosity, punctuality and professionalism.
As a judge, she spends her free time mentoring people of all different ages. She has mentored children in middle and high school with Take Stock in Children. She generally finds her mentees through her interactions with the community.
Judge Cox has mentees in college and in law school, and young lawyers. She also works as a mentor broker by trying to pair those looking for a mentor with other community leaders who are willing to share their time.
Circuit Judge Timothy Collins requires many Clay County juveniles to spend the day with Judge Cox and write a letter about their experience. Judge Cox believes this is a great partnership to help young people in the community. To reinforce this bond, Judge Cox gives her mentees a gavel pencil which reads, “Judge Cox Believes in Me!”
To make time for everyone, Judge Cox invites mentees for a “walk and talk” in lieu of lunch. It is more informal and allows them to get exercise. She credits former JBA president Giselle Carson for the idea.
Judge Cox serves as an ambassador with Take Stock in Children and works to recruit mentors in a non-traditional way. She frequently presents a lunch-and-learn called “The Power of Mentoring” for corporations or community gatherings. She shares her experiences and concludes with a call to action, which generally yields positive results. To become a mentor, visit takestockinchildren.org for more information.