Adverse Witness
Musings of a New Judge...
AW
Hayes. As an eighteen year old kid, no one could have told me that I would actually be so fortunate as to live my legal dreams. In my brief time on the Bench, a couple of surprising things have struck me. First, our judges made it look so easy. When I was a practitioner, I always thought being a judge must be relatively easy. After all, a judge has no clients to deal with on a daily basis. I remember the late nights and weekends preparing for trial or for a big hearing and the stress that those cases brought. What I seem to have not appreciated was the fact that while I argued strongly for my side of the case and I always (ok, not always), thought my argument was the strongest and I should never lose (although I did lose a lot), the judge’s job would be easy if he or she just listened to me. At the conclusion of the argument, I knew I had done my job. However, now as a judge, I am amazed with how difficult these decisions are in virtually every case. I love to hear great lawyers make great legal arguments! As a judge, we really do want to get the ruling right and good lawyering is the best way to be in position to do so. Second, our community needs all of us at our best! After spending twenty-seven (27) years in criminal law courts, I thought I had seen some of the worst factual scenarios our community faced. , However, in six (6) months on the Dependency Court Bench, I have been shocked by the distress many of our children, parents and extended families face on a daily basis. As the Dependency Court judge, I am extremely fortunate to have a dedicated cadre of attorneys who regularly practice in the Dependency Court helping children and families who are going through very rough times. These lawyers have been incredibly patient and understanding in attempting to get this old criminal law lawyer comfortable in the role as Dependency Court judge and I thank them for their efforts. However, we have too few attorneys handling dependency law cases and the court appointed Attorney Ad Litem conflict list is extremely dated. Please let Legal Aid or the Guardian Ad Litem program know if you are willing to help on a pro bono basis should the need arise. This is tough work, but it really is what many of us went to law school for. It gives the attorneys an opportunity literally to save a life or family.
On February 3, 2020 it was my distinct pleasure and honor to take the Bench as a recently appointed Circuit Court Judge here in Collier County. It has been an absolute whirlwind since receiving news of the appointment in late December until now. Each day for the past six (6) months, I have entered the back entrance to the courthouse after spending twenty-seven (27) years entering through the front entrances and I still find it surreal. I first became interested in the law back in the summer of 1986 between my senior year of high school and first year of college while watching Judge Hugh Hayes presiding over the sensational murder trial of Steven Benson. I witnessed my future law partner Jerry Berry and Mike McDonnell for the defense as they went up against the Brock (Jerry and Dwight) brothers for the
State. Watching the courtroom theatre changed my entire mindset of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. As a young prosecutor here is Collier County in the early 1990s, I worked alongside the Brock brothers and was able to glean experience from them. Then as a criminal defense lawyer for over twenty-six years, I was blessed to work alongside Jerry Berry, Donald Day and Janeice Martin as partners for twenty (20) of those years. I was always in awe of the command Mike McDonnell had in any courtroom he graced, but I was even more impressed with the person he was. Mike was always someone I could count on for a kind word when difficulties arose. To close out my Benson trial contacts, my chambers now sit one office away from Judge
September 2020 Vol. 192
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