Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Chris Marion Brown for Broward County judge
County court is the only point of contact for many people in the judicial system.
Often called “the people’s court,” it handles small claims, misdemeanors and criminal traffic cases such as DUIs. Many people appear without a lawyer and under duress. An ideal county court judge follows the law scrupulously and treats everyone fairly and with empathy.
In a three-way race for Broward’s open Group 15 seat, the best choice is Chris Marion Brown, who has practiced law for more than three decades. Brown, 62, of Plantation, is married and the father of three, including a daughter, Sandy, the youngest, who had special needs and died five years ago at age 33.
“She was a tremendous blessing to me and my family,” Brown said in a Sun Sentinel editorial board virtual interview. “It just taught me empathy in how to see people, and the stresses they go through.” Brown and his wife Mindy, a Broward County judge, have been active in Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and he said his daughter’s complex challenges taught him the difficulty of navigating the health care system.
A native of Louisville, Brown runs a varied solo practice in Fort Lauderdale, has argued in appellate and federal courts and worked for one year as a Miami-Dade corrections officer. The University of Miami law graduate has the legal experience and personal qualities to be a standout judge. He said he will not use the job as a stepping stone to another judgeship.
Also running is Michael Ahearn, 51, of Wilton Manors, a lawyer and well-known figure in legal and political circles. Ahearn has been a political consultant for judicial candidates and has done extensive work as a court-appointed mediator and arbitrator.
He served five years of probation in 1989 for leaving an accident scene, he said in a Sun Sentinel questionnaire. He said the sentencing judge (now retired), J. Leonard Fleet, supports his candidacy.
Former Broward County Judge Claudia Robinson resigned in 2018 after an investigation disclosed that she chose Ahearn for more than 80% of her mediation cases. Ahearn, who was not implicated in the case, was an unpaid advisor to Robinson’s 2014 campaign.
Ahearn’s mediation work was suspended last year after Chief County Judge Robert Lee cited his “failure to comply with referral orders,” according to a Dec. 8, 2021, email from Lee to county judges. Ahearn said no lawyers complained to him about his work, which he said he carried out despite serious illness.
“I don’t understand what Judge Lee’s issue really is,” Ahearn told the editorial board.
Ahearn initially filed to run for an open Circuit Court race, but decided “it was not the best matchup for me” after a well-known legislator, Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Lighthouse Point, entered the race.
The third candidate is Suzette Hyde, a private lawyer with a varied resume that includes experience as a traffic hearing officer, guardian ad litem in child dependency cases, in-house counsel for an insurance carrier and private lawyer with an emphasis on family law and making families stronger. Hyde is a capable candidate who forcefully articulated the need to improve public confidence in the courts.
Hyde also would add needed diversity to Broward’s bench.
All Broward voters can vote in this nonpartisan countywide race. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on Aug. 23, the top two finishers will meet in a runoff in November. For Broward County Court Group 15, the Sun Sentinel recommends Chris Marion Brown.