2024 Florida Court Personnel Institute

Florida Supreme Court Justice John Couriel and Judge Angela Cowden, Tenth Judicial Circuit, at the opening panel of the Florida Court Personnel Institute.

This February, the 2024 Florida Court Personnel Institute welcomed more than 300 participants from across the state for this year’s marquee educational event for court employees. The institute is designed to help attendees enhance knowledge, build skills, and promote ethical standards, all with the goal of ensuring the competent and fair administration of justice.

An opening session for all attendees began with a panel discussion moderated by Judge Angela Cowden of the Tenth Judicial Circuit and featuring Justice John Couriel, Justice Meredith Sasso, and Judge Paetra Brownlee of the Sixth District Court of Appeal. The panel members discussed the importance of the work done by staff throughout the court system and noted that it takes an absolute team effort to serve the people of Florida and to achieve the mission of the judicial branch.

Following the panel, Judge Alicia Latimore, Ninth Judicial Circuit, was joined by Lisa Maddocks, Michael McElroy, and Leigh Merritt from the Office of the State Courts Administrator for a session on optimizing performance and resilience by actively working toward building balance into one’s life. The session closed with Judge Latimore introducing the human and canine volunteers from Companions for Courage, an organization that uses therapy dogs to help children who need to appear in court.

Judge Alicia Latimore, Ninth Judicial Circuit, introduces the handlers and therapy dogs from Companions for Courage.

Following the opening session, the institute broke out into educational tracks aligned with specific roles within the court system. This year, training programs were offered for appellate law clerks, civil traffic hearing officers, judicial assistants and general magistrate assistants, managers and supervisors, new employees, public information officers, and trial court staff attorneys.

From new employees learning about the Florida Constitution and how different cases move through the court system to the latest case updates for appellate law clerks, the Florida Court Personnel Institute is an invaluable training opportunity for court staff. The institute is also one way in which the judicial branch supports Issue 5 of the Long-Range Strategic Plan for the Florida Judicial Branch which directs the branch to maintain a professional, ethical, and skilled judiciary and workforce.

The institute is coordinated by the Office of Court Education, which works diligently to provide quality and responsive educational content and training to judges and court employees to ensure high-level performance.