PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_May 2019 | Page 13

JUDICIAL PROFILE C o r n e r
Judicial Profile: Judge Scott Kerner
LAURA J. STARR, ESQ.
Judge Kerner’s father was a uniform police
officer and eventually moved up the ranks
until he was named as the Assistant Chief
of Police for the City of Lake Worth. Judge
Kerner’s mother was an IRS Agent. At a
young age, Judge Kerner was taught the
Golden Rule of “do on to others as you
would have others do on to you.” To this
day Judge Kerner adheres to his father’s
early teaching by treating others as he
would like to be treated. When he was just
eight years old, Judge Kerner remembers
going to work with his father and seeing
the inside of a jail cell at the Lake Worth
holding facility. His father showed him at
an early age that the inside of a jail cell is
a place you never want to end up. Judge
Kerner never forgot that day, nor the look
of respect on the faces of his peers and
teachers when his father brought him
to and from school wearing his police
uniform. Another early memory for Judge
Kerner was a field trip his school took to
the Palm Beach County Fair Grounds. He
recalls his teacher pointing to the sky while
the entire class watched the space shuttle
Challenger taking off from Cape Canaveral.
Shortly after launch, they watched as the
takeoff turned into an explosion and huge
flash in the bright blue sky above. While his
teacher did not explain to the class what
had occurred, Judge Kerner recalled the
terrified look on his teacher’s face. Judge
Kerner learned from his parents later that
day what had transpired and the ultimate
sacrifice those astronaut heroes made to
our country through their service. It is
through his upbringing that Judge Kerner
learned public service is an honorable and
meaningful way to serve the community.
Judge Kerner attended public school in
Palm Beach County and graduated from
Santaluces Community High School in
Lantana, which is rated as one of the most
diverse schools in Florida. Before high
school, Judge Kerner played intermural
baseball and soccer. However, it was at
Santaluces High that Judge Kerner joined
the men’s varsity tennis team where he
played in the number one position until
graduation. Upon graduation from high
school at age 17, Judge Kerner attended
college in Binghamton, N.Y. where he
earned both a Bachelors and Masters
degree of Arts in English. Although tennis
was not a big focus due to the bitter cold
winters in upstate New York, Judge
Kerner continued to play on the men’s
varsity tennis team during his first year
at Binghamton until studies took priority.
Immediately following college, Judge
Kerner returned to Florida and enrolled at
St. Thomas University School of Law where
he earned his JD degree. the process of selecting a jury, as this is
typically the only time he hears from the
jury. Unfortunately, Judge Kerner has
noticed that the jury pools are experiencing
an increase in the number of people who
do not comply with their jury summons
and fail to appear. He is hopeful that this
is an issue that can be worked on and
improved. While Judge Kerner has found
most lawyers who appear before him to
be professional and well prepared, there
are a few standouts. In particular, Judge
Kerner views these attorneys as lawyers
who do not comply with Local Rule 4, do
not narrow issues or even attempt to do so,
and misuse UMC by setting inappropriate
matters. Judge Kerner is hopeful that his
patient reminders to counsel on these
topics will have a positive effect and assist
lawyers in abiding by their professional
responsibilities.
After graduating law school, Judge Kerner
went to work at local Palm Beach County
law firms focusing on a civil and personal
injury trial practice until he decided to
fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a
Circuit Court Judge. While some did not
believe that he had enough experience and
was too young, Judge Kerner disagreed
due to his 10 years of trial experience
and pushed forward to fulfill his dream of
becoming a Circuit Court Judge. Running
for election to the bench was a challenging
but fulfilling process. Each time he puts on
the black robe, Judge Kerner understands
the importance, enormous responsibility
and duty to be fair, unbiased and to treat
all who come before him with dignity,
respect and an open willingness to hear
all sides of an argument. One of Judge
Kerner’s favorite parts of being a judge is
presiding over jury trials. In particular, he
likes the voir dire portion of the trial and Judge Kerner is married to Vanessa and
has a 4-year-old daughter named Antonella.
Antonella is bilingual and is able to practice
both languages at home. When called to
duty and child care permits, Vanessa is
a substitute teacher in the Palm Beach
County Public School system.
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN
13
It was an enormous honor to Judge Kerner
to have been sworn in to the bench by former
Florida Supreme Court Justice Rosemary
Barkett. On behalf of the Judicial Relations
Committee and Palm Beach County Bar
Association, we welcome Judge Kerner to
the Bench and look forward to his dedicated
service, commitment, and contribution to
the local bar and community at large in the
15th Judicial Circuit.