PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_June 2019 | Page 7

DIVERSITY C o r n e r
Some of the Women Judges of the Fifteenth Judicial
Circuit: Who They Are, What They Have Done, and
Why You Should Know Them- Part II
LISA KOHRING
“The strongest quality a leader can have is
to learn and be vulnerable.”
~ Chief Judge Marx
“If you work hard, good things will follow.”
~ Judge Caracuzzo
“If you’re not learning, you’re moving
backward.”
~ Judge Collins
Whoever spread the rumor that women are
weaker, must not have truly known women.
Although we haven’t achieved equality, it’s
within reach and the women judges of the
Fifteenth Judicial Circuit are trailblazing
a meticulously clear path that we’d all be
wise to memorize.
In 2016, I authored Part I of this article,
which featured four prominent women
judges in our Circuit. The article recounted
some of the experiences and cultural
influences that made these women judges
powerful partners in our legal community.
The goal was to learn their “secrets to
success” in our fiercely competitive, and
predominantly male-dominated, legal field.
They’ve each achieved success, and I’m
simply not interested in reinventing the
wheel. Most important, I wanted to share
these “golden nuggets” with each of you
because, after all, women need to support
women.
This past April, I was fortunate to have a
second opportunity to collect and mete out
more of these “secrets to success” when I
spoke one-on-one with Chief Judge Krista
Marx, Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo, and Judge
Sherri Collins. They shared their histories,
their sources of inspiration, and some of
the ways they’ve each harnessed their
individual “female power” to positively
impact our legal community. This is Part II.
Chief Judge Krista Marx was appointed
to the judiciary in 1998, and over the past
twenty-one years, she’s worked hard
and smart to rise through the ranks of
our Judiciary. In 2017, Chief Judge Marx
became the third woman to be selected
by her peers as the Chief Judge of the
Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. She’s also
the second woman to Chair the Florida
Judicial Qualifications Commission since
the Florida Constitution established it 53
years ago in 1966. As the Chair, she leads
the Commission in reviewing complaints
of judicial misconduct and advising the
Florida Supreme Court on whether it
should impose discipline. Given the list of
her impressive achievements, one might
be surprised to learn that law was not
always the path she intended to blaze. In
the early 80’s, she was a disc jockey and an
aspiring reporter with dreams of working
in television, but after suffering a vicious
attack, she changed course. She’d never
been in a courtroom nor exposed to the
legal system, but after being poorly treated,
she says she “felt a great injustice of the
system” and knew immediately that she
wanted to be part of changing the system.
Her advice to women, “don’t be afraid of
failure, jump [in] and take action.”
Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo was appointed to
our Circuit in 2015. Before her appointment,
she spent nearly two decades prosecuting
cases in the West Palm Beach Office of
the State Attorney; first, prosecuting in
the Misdemeanor/DUI division, later as
the Chief of the Gang and Gun Unit, and,
last, prosecuting homicides. Even before
practicing law, she worked as a data
processor and a secretary for the State
Attorney. Judge Caracuzzo hails from a
humble background; she was the first
person in her family to attend college. Her
mother was a dedicated bookkeeper who
understood the value of loyalty, longevity,
and dedication to her profession, and she
taught Judge Caracuzzo the importance of
giving 100% in every endeavor. Her mother
is her “rock” and raised Judge Caracuzzo
to see options, not obstacles. She “never
saw gender as an obstacle” to her goals.
Her advice to women, “do [the job] until it’s
right [and] if you are not going to do it right,
don’t do it.”
Judge Sherri Collins was appointed to our
Circuit in 2016. She also spent more than
a decade prosecuting cases at the West
Palm Beach Office of the State Attorney
and a decade prosecuting cases in the
felony and DUI divisions in Plantation
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN
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Key. Judge Collins was raised in a family
of lawyers. Her father was an exceptionally
brilliant Wills & Estates practitioner
and, as a 10-year-old, she’d spend time
accompanying him to client meetings
and learning tidbits about law. From then
on, Judge Collins knew she’d practice
law herself someday. After graduating
from law school, she interned at the Dade
County State Attorney’s Office working
under strong women litigators, including
Janet Reno, who “took charge” and exuded
passion for law. She’s not a stranger to
gender-based disparate treatment; during
our meeting she recounted a time when a
judge barked, “sit down and hush little girl.”
Judge Collins didn’t let such treatment
derail her dreams; instead, she persevered.
Her advice to women, “focus your attention
on what you are doing today” and “do the
right thing.”
I’ve learned that successful women have a
unique way of deriving power when they
accept themselves at face value. They
don’t hide their opinions or identities. They
embrace their strengths and weaknesses.
They identify vulnerabilities and flaws
and meet them head on. They give 100%
and “do the right thing”. Chief Judge Marx,
Judge Caracuzzo, and Judge Collins are
successful because they’ve mastered these
“secrets of success”.
Lisa Kohring is a Senior Litigation Attorney
at the Palm Beach County School District
practicing employment litigation and can be
reached at Lisa.Kohring@palmbeachschools.
org.
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