Judge Michael Davis has learned, and earned your vote

Judge Michael Davis is the incumbent in the race for Broward County Court judge in Group 17 and voters should keep him in that seat.

Veteran judicial candidate Rhoda Ann Sokoloff is running against Davis. She is sincere and likable, but offers no compelling reasons for voters to choose her over Davis.

Sokoloff, 65, has run for judge four times before and said during her endorsement interview at the Sun Sentinel that “this is my last time.”

Davis, 40, was appointed to the bench in 2016 after working as a lawyer in New York and Florida for 11 years. He moved to Florida in 2010 and worked for a variety of state agencies — Department of Children and Families, Guardian Ad Litem and the state Attorney General’s Office — before his appointment to the bench.

His stints in those offices and his two years presiding over criminal and civil cases have provided him with the broad experience a good judge needs.

Davis is a thoughtful and well-meaning jurist. He says he loves his work. “For me being a judge is not just a job. It’s the highest calling within our legal system,” he wrote in his Sun Sentinel questionnaire.

Davis does not appear to love all parts of the job, however. In the early days of his tenure, he presided over first-appearance court, a chaotic gathering filled with often ill-prepared attorneys and testy defendants. On at least three occasions, Davis expressed his displeasure with the people appearing before him.

“I was unkind,” a chastened Davis said during his endorsement interview. “The context of those situations is not important. The fact is that I was not nice.”

Davis now works in the Hollywood Satellite Courthouse and his demeanor there appears to be fine.

Davis got his law degree from Hofstra University Law School and lives in Hollywood with his wife and two children. His resume is filled with examples of good works. He cites a program he started in cooperation with the Broward County School Board to bring “underprivileged and dependent children” to visit first-appearance court. Perhaps some of those children will remember that grim experience if they’re tempted to break the law.

Davis said he’s astonished by the number of teenagers who show up in his court facing criminal charges.

Sokoloff runs her own firm, specializing in family law, domestic violence and dependency. She’s a divorced mother with a disabled child. She said during her endorsement interview that she has more legal experience and life experience than Davis.

“I have a better temperament,” she said. “Things roll off your back as you get older.”

Sokoloff started attending law school at 37 and got her degree from Nova Southeastern’s Shepard Broad Law School at age 46. She is a model of perseverance, always with a smile on her face.

She said she’s running again because she believes elected judges need to be challenged. “I have nothing against Michael,” she said. “I just feel I have a lot to offer.”