Chief Judge Bonnie Helms | Holly Elomina, Trial Court Administrator

sixteenth judicial circuit of Florida

The mission of the Florida Judicial Branch is to protect rights and liberties, uphold and interpret the law, and provide for the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Monroe County was established in 1823 at which time it occupied most of the Southern Florida Peninsula. It has since been reduced to the Florida Keys and portions of Everglades National Park. It was named for President James Monroe. The county seat is in Key West. Florida is divided into twenty Judicial Circuits, or areas of jurisdiction, each of which is composed of Circuit and County Courts. Together with the six District Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Florida, they constitute the Florida State Courts System.

The Sixteenth Judicial Circuit has three locations. The Freeman Justice Center located in Key West, the Marathon Branch Courthouse located in Marathon and the Plantation Key Government Center in Tavernier.

Judge Helms is also the current chair of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit’s Pro Bono Committee, which educates local attorneys on the need to provide pro bono services and promotes to the public the benefits of pro bono services that local attorneys and Legal Services of the Florida Keys provide through clinics and individual representation.

The Distinguished Judicial Service award is presented at the annual Pro Bono Award Ceremony in Tallahassee, in which the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar also honor and recognize individual, circuit, Voluntary Bar, Law Firm, Young Lawyers Division and Distinguished Federal Judicial Service recipients for their efforts in ensuring access to justice for those who could otherwise not afford it.