Staff Writer
Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Chief Judge Donald Moran once joked that his judicial assistant was the “Real Chief” of the courthouse.
He along with many others recognized the contributions Mary Lou Martinson made to the court during her retirement reception Friday.
“She has been in this business since she was 17,” said Moran. “She has helped everyone in the courthouse at one time or another and we will truly miss her.”
In an earlier interview with the Daily Record, Martinson described her job:
“Because Moran is the chief judge, he doesn’t necessarily run a calendar. There are (55) judges in the circuit and I work for them all. If they have a problem or a need, they call us.
“I do all the trial schedules for the judges and assign courtrooms every Monday morning. I also work with the court administration on problems or court items that need to be addressed. If a JA (judicial assistant) has a problem with the way the court system works, I arrange a meeting to smooth it out.
“I also deal with the chief judges across the state and the senior judges in Tallahassee. When a JA is out, I assign temporary floaters. If people are unhappy with their day in court, they usually end up here.”
When people want answers at the courthouse, they could normally be found in Martinson’s office.
“She is everywhere, with everyone and knows everything,” said Sara Pappas, administrative secretary in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. “She’s irreplaceable.”
Martinson has been training Rose D’Amor to take over as Moran’s judicial assistant, but plans to stay within ear- or Internet-shot during her retirement to help smooth the transition.
“I’m going to miss the courthouse and the people,” said Martinson. “But I’m trying to keep a positive outlook on this and I’m thinking that when everyone else’s alarm clock goes off on Monday, mine won’t,” she said.
“But Judge Moran does have me on speed-dial and I’m hooked up through the Internet, so I won’t be totally gone.”
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Martinson is looking forward to more time with her family.
“Especially my mother,” said Martinson.
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