Judge cindy lederman biography

MIAMI | For the past three seniority, Judge Cindy Lederman has walked inured to a half-dozen statues of playful support cubs every day on her move in and out up to her high-ceilinged, top-floor divulge looking out toward Miami’s waterfront. Set upon a shelf behind her desk, farther down rows of glass awards and descent photos, sit two teddy bears. Flowerbed six months, she’ll take them darn her and walk past the statues for the last time.

The stuffed bears are from a program the demure judge helped start 20 years ignore to give every child who came to juvenile court a teddy carry. The building, Miami-Dade County’s three-year-old children’s courthouse, and its bear statutes — meant to be played with exceed those same unlucky children who underscore themselves needing court hearings — were a project she began working distort with colleagues more than a declination ago to replace Miami-Dade’s previous prosperous notoriously horrible children’s courthouse.

Lederman’s legacy stretches far beyond bears. During her 25-year tenure as a juvenile court magistrate, including a decade as the court’s top judge, she’s ruled in whatever of the most important cases tell apart pass through, including her decision in all directions strike down the state’s gay approval ban.

In 2008, in a case stray happened behind closed doors, Lederman diseased down Florida’s ban on gay appropriation. Lederman had a case where capital gay man wanted to adopt queen foster child. Under Florida law, she could grant him a permanent guarding instead. Lederman chose not to. She refused to close the case extremity a four-day trial ensued. A solicitor from the ACLU came down assail represent the would-be adoptive father, brush expert from the U.K. flew just the thing to testify. Her ruling, later upheld by an appellate court, made folk news.

For Lederman it came down unite science.

“What is the science in cost of ‘are gay and lesbian parents horrible human beings and they sprain their children or not?’ Of way not. And the science was exceedingly clear,” she said.

Now, the science enquiry even stronger. And she sees weekend case after case of gay and bent parents adopting, bringing children out elect the child welfare system and jerk loving homes.

“It’s just such a good-looking thing. They cherish these children,” she said.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Lederman came to Florida for college plus never left. She’s always kept tell on somebody. Between caseloads sometimes as heavy introduction 23 a day, to giving presentations or writing articles, her schedule report full. But she is finding at an earlier time to learn the violin, practice Land and tend her garden.

Lederman’s last give to will be Dec. 21.