User:EllenVenzer/sandbox/Ellen Sue Venzer

Ellen Sue Venzer (born 1963) is a United States Circuit Court Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Criminal Division. She previously served as the County Court Judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving in all divisions of the County Court of Miami-Dade.

Early Life and Education
Venzer graduated from the University of Miami with her Bachelor of Business Administration, in 1984 and from the University of Miami School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987.

Legal Career
Following law school graduation, Venzer became a litigation associate for the firm Cohen & Silver, P.A. In 1988, Venzer became an associate at Bailer & Hunt, P.A in Miami, Florida until 1991. From 1991-1992, she was a litigation associate at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where she was responsible for litigating matters involving lender liability, director and officer liability, securities litigation, fraud, contractual disputes, unfair competition, and other business torts. From 1992-1993, Venzer was a litigation partner at Profiler & Venzer, a five-lawyer commercial litigation and bankruptcy law firm. In 1993, Venzer became a shareholder of Venzer & Associates, P.A. and in 1995, became a Judge of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. She served in all divisions of the County Court: criminal, civil, and domestic and tried in excess of 60 jury trials and several thousand non-jury trials and evidentiary hearings. Venzer was in this position until 2004.

In 2004, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Venzer to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. She began in the Civil and Juvenile Dependency Division and now serves in the Felony Criminal Division of the Circuit Court.

University of Miami School of Law
Venzer began her academic career at the University of Miami School of Law in 1996 as a lecturer for the Litigation Skills Program, a course offered to second and third year law students teaching the necessary skills for trial practice. In 2010, Venzer began teaching Children & The Law, a course addressing the issues involving legal advocacy for children, and The Philosophy of Sentencing, in 2014.

University of Miami
At the University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences, Venzer is a professor of Crime & Punishment and Hot Topics in Criminal Law.

Florida International University
In 1998, Venzer became an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Urban and Public Affairs Graduate School Program. She taught Aspects of Corrections, a course focusing on the legal rights of convicts; Criminal Law; Probation, Parole, and Community Programs, and Justice and the Constitution, focusing on United States Supreme Court decisions and their effect on the rights of individuals.

Program Development
In 1997, Venzer brought the Courtrooms in the Classrooms Program to Miami-Dade, while serving on the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. The Program's mission was to educate and expose students to the American legal system by bringing judges and attorneys to middle school and high school classrooms and providing students the opportunity to interact with these professionals and consider current and relevant cases. In 2004, Venzer was also cited in a Dependency Drug Court Project, known as the Engaging Moms Program (EMP) for Family Drug Court.

Judicial Awards

 * Judicial Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Dade-County Bar Association (2017)
 * Finalist – Law Category, South Florida Business Journal, Building Our Community Awards (2006)
 * Recipient of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD’s) Award of Distinction (1998)
 * Recipient of Miami-Dade Police Department Community Policing Bureau, Don’t Let Alcohol Be Your Last Taste of Life Award of Appreciation (1999)
 * Honored with a “Laurel” from WPLG/Channel 10’s General Manager, John Garwood, for bringing the Courtrooms in the Classrooms program to Miami-Dade County (1997)
 * Acknowledged by the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board for bringing the Courtrooms in the Classrooms program to Florida in an editorial titled Consequences of Drinking & Driving Take Graphic Form for Dade Teens (1997)
 * Presented with the Key to the County by then Mayor Stephen Clark for role as Chairwoman of the All American Weekend (1984)