Broward County’s first feminine chief choose left workplace 34 years in the past. The second will start her service in Might. However Miette Ok Burnstein has no recommendation for Carol-Lisa Phillips about navigating the politics of the job or tackling the big administrative tasks.
“Imagine me, she wants no recommendation,” mentioned Burnstein, now retired and residing in Miami-Dade County. “She is a super-qualified choose.”
Phillips, 61, was elected unanimously by the 90 judges of the circuit and county courts to succeed Jack Tuter as chief choose, a job he held for eight years. Chief judges are restricted to a most of 4, two-year phrases, and Tuter introduced final week that he will likely be retiring Might 1.
That can give Phillips a head begin on the job — she was supposed to begin on July 1, however as the present chief administrative choose of the civil division, she is already second-in-command within the county.
Phillips was a civil lawyer for 14 years earlier than she was tapped by Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the bench in 2003. She was elected to a full time period in 2006 with out opposition and re-elected in 2012 and 2018, by no means needing to marketing campaign.
Final 12 months she unexpectedly drew an unlikely opponent: The daughter of two Orlando legal professionals who appeared earlier than Phillips and wished her off their civil case. The gambit labored. Phillips needed to recuse herself to keep away from the looks of a battle of curiosity.
However the election wasn’t even shut. The opponent didn’t dwell in Broward County and didn’t actively marketing campaign. Phillips ran away with 72% of the vote.
Her election as chief choose earlier this month drew no opposition.
“It’s an honor to have earned that belief,” she mentioned.
The job is greater than ceremonial. It entails assigning and reassigning judges to the assorted divisions in the primary courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and the satellite tv for pc courts in Deerfield Seashore, Plantation and Hollywood, ensuring they’re managing a practical caseload and overseeing the administration of courtroom insurance policies.
Phillips was instrumental in crafting the circuit’s response to the COVID pandemic in 2020, guaranteeing that Broward would have the ability to proceed offering providers even with courtroom buildings closed to the general public. Whereas most circumstances skilled delays, the circuit civil division didn’t miss a day of service.
Regardless of the brand new tasks of the workplace, Phillips intends to hold onto her caseload, which incorporates the final litigation associated to the 2018 mass capturing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive College. Households of the victims are suing the Broward Sheriff’s Workplace and three people for failing to cease the gunman who killed 14 college students and three workers members.
Making historical past as Broward’s first feminine chief choose in a technology (and second ever) isn’t one thing that preoccupies Phillips, although she does acknowledge the significance of serving as a job mannequin.
“This courtroom has as many feminine judges as male, so instances are altering,” she mentioned.
Phillips is married to former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle. They’ve one daughter, Rachel, 26, who’s following her mom’s footsteps into the authorized occupation. She’s in her last 12 months of legislation college.
Rafael Olmeda may be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Comply with him on Threads.web/@rafael.olmeda.
Substitute sought
The Judicial Nominating Fee is looking for nominees for the emptiness within the seventeenth Circuit created by the retirement of Decide Jack Tuter. Certified candidates might submit an software by midday on March 7.