Experience

EDUCATION
CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW, ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY, Chicago, IL
Juris Doctor, May 2001, With Honors
GPA: 3.45/4.0
Class Rank: 44/330
Class Rank Percentile: Top 14%
Honors and Activities:    Class of 2001 Bar and Gavel Award; 2000-2001 Marc Grinker Outstanding Student Commitment Award; 2000-2001 Edmund W. Burke Scholarship; Fall 2000 CALI Award for Forensic Sciences; Best Oralist, Fall 2000 Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition; Finalist Team, Fall 2000 Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition; Vice-President, 2000-2001 Chicago-Kent Moot Court Honor Society; 1999-2001 Chicago-Kent Moot Court Honor Society; Semi-Finalist, Fall 1999 Ilana Diamond Rovner Moot Court Competition; Finalist, Spring 1999 Charles Evans Hughes Moot Court Competition; Spring 1999 CALI Award for Legal Writing II; Secretary, 1999-2001 Chicago-Kent Student Bar Association; Dean’s List, Fall 2000, Spring 2000, Fall 1999, Spring 1999

 

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT EDWARDSVILLE, Edwardsville, IL
Master of Science in Biological Sciences, May 1996
GPA: 3.81/4.0
Honors and Activities:    Science and Math Award, 1996

 

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, Notre Dame, IN
Bachelor of Science in Science Pre-professional Studies with Concentration in Science, Technology, and Values, May 1995
Honors and Activities:    Dean’s Honor List, 1994 -1995
Badin Hall Woman of the Year, 1995
Student Government, 1991-1995

 

EXPERIENCE
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, Miami, FL
County Court Judge, June 2010 – present
  • Presiding over DUI, traffic, and misdemeanor cases from arraignment to trial.
  • Reviewed petitions for temporary civil domestic violence injunctions and presiding over civil domestic violence injunction hearings.
  • Presided over civil traffic infraction cases.

 

STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, Miami, FL
Assistant State Attorney / Special Assistant United States Attorney, August 2008 – June 2010
  • Screened state-charged firearms-related cases for federal prosecution.
  • Prosecuted firearms-related cases in federal court, including eight (8) federal jury trials.
Assistant State Attorney, Felony Division Chief, October 2006 – November 2007
  • Prosecuted homicide cases.
  • Supervised and trained three (3) felony division attorneys.
Assistant State Attorney, Gang Prosecutions Unit, January 2005 – October 2006
  • Prosecuted gang and gun violence cases, including homicides.
  • Directed multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional gang investigations and prosecutions, including those dealing with issues of homeland security.
Assistant State Attorney, Felony Division, February 2004 – January 2005
  • Prosecuted thousands of cases ranging from third to first degree felonies, including fourteen (14) jury trials.
  • Assisted in training felony division attorneys.
Assistant State Attorney, Assistant Chief of DUI/Traffic, County Court Division, November 2002 – February 2004
  • Supervised and trained over fifty (50) attorneys and numerous Certified Legal Interns.
  • Commanded the prosecution of thousands of DUI cases and criminal traffic cases.
  • Prepared and revised the 2003 DUI/Traffic Training Manual for incoming County Court prosecutors.
  • Authored memorandum of law on discovery distributed to all County Court prosecutors, assistant public defenders, and judges.
Assistant State Attorney, DUI/Traffic/Crimes Misdemeanor Division, August 2001 – November 2002
  • Prosecuted thousands of criminal traffic and misdemeanor cases, including seventeen (17) jury trials.
  • Promoted to Committed Prosecutor in December 2001.

 

CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW, LEGAL WRITING PROGRAM, Chicago, IL
Legal Writing Teaching Assistant, August 2000 – May 2001
  • Instructed students on writing legal memoranda, trial briefs, and appellate briefs.
  • Prepared students for oral advocacy competition.

 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, Chicago, IL
Legal Intern, August 2000 – December 2000
  • Compiled legal research and prepared legal memoranda.
  • Observed and participated in various federal court proceedings.

 

STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, Miami, FL
Summer Intern, Sexual Battery/Child Abuse Unit, Summer 2000
  • Participated in the preparation of various cases for trial.
  • Assisted in the creation of training programs for police departments in the areas of Sexual Battery and Child Abuse.

 

CHAMBERS OF THE HONORABLE JOAN GOTTSCHALL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, Chicago, IL
Legal Extern, January 2000 – May 2000
  • Assisted in the preparation of judicial opinions.
  • Observed various courtroom proceedings.

 

CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE, LAW, AND TECHNOLOGY, Chicago, IL
Research Assistant, January 2000 – May 2000
  • Researched current legal issues in science and medicine.
  • Updated health law treatise.

 

FROHWITTER LAW FIRM, Munich, Germany
Summer Intern, Summer 1999
  • Researched international and comparative intellectual property issues.
  • Compiled comparative research regarding patent term extension in the European Union.

 

DOVE, INC. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER, Decatur, IL
Summer Intern, June 1994 – August 1994
  • Helped victims of physical and mental abuse through direct service and hot-line counseling.
  • Planned activities for victims and children.

 

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL OUTREACH
Kids and the Power of Work Program, Fall 2011 – present
Panelist, Florida International University Black Law Students Association, Fall 2011
County Court Judicial Education Day Speedy Trial Presentation, Spring 2011
Minority Mentoring Picnic, Winter 2010
Joseph Caleb Center Town Hall Meeting, Fall 2010
Miami Shores Town Hall Meeting, Fall 2010
Panelist, Florida Bar Practicing with Professionalism Ethics Panel Discussion, Summer 2010
Florida Bar Grievance Committee, 2006-2009
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Miami, 2006-2008
Sunny Isles Police Department Traffic Enforcement Training, Winter 2003
Coral Gables Police Department Traffic Enforcement Training, Summer 2003
National Park Service Training, Summer 2003
Carrollton High School Drinking and Driving Program, Summer 2003
Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) School, Spring 2003
Member of Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police (DCACP) Traffic Enforcement Committee, 2002-2003

 

SPECIALIZED TRAINING
Florida Judicial College – Phase I, Winter 2011
National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence Enhancing Judicial Skills in Domestic Violence Cases, Fall 2010
Domestic Violence University Immigration Issues Seminar, Fall 2010
Conference of County Court Judges, Summer 2010
Faculty Development Course at National Advocacy Center, Spring 2007
National District Attorneys’ Association Conference, Fall 2006
Florida Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association Annual Conference, Spring 2006
Second National Community Prosecution Workshop, Winter 2005
Police Medicolegal Investigation of Death, Winter 2005
American Prosecutors Research Institute, “Hitting the Mark – Implementing and Maintaining Community Gun Violence Prosecution Initiatives, Winter 2005
Gerald T. Bennett Prosecutors/PD Program, Summer 2004
Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM) Seminar on Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) for Prosecutors and Law Enforcement, Summer 2003
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Death Notification Workshop, Summer 2003
Florida Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association Advanced DUI Seminar, Winter 2003
Drug Recognition Expert School, Spring 2002
Florida Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association DUI Trial Advocacy School, Winter 2002

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ)
Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL)
Cuban American Bar Association (CABA)
Dade County Bar Association (DCBA)