Scott J Silverman

Background

Scott J. Silverman was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, on June 25, 1957. At the age 13, he moved with his family to Miami Beach. Growing up in Bay Harbor Islands, he attended Nautilus Junior High School and Miami Beach Senior High. He graduated magna cum laude (high honors) from the University of Miami in 1978 with a BBA in finance. A recipient of the Flammang Academic Scholarship, while attending college Silverman was recognized on the President's Honor Role three times and on the Dean's list every semester. His academic honors include membership in Phi Kappa Phi (Honor Society in all fields), Beta Gamma Sigma (Business Honor Society), Omicron Delta Epsilon (International Economic Honor Society), and Alpha Lambda Delta (Freshman Honor Society).

Silverman subsequently received his JD from University of Tulsa College of Law in 1981. During his last year in law school, he worked in Getty Refining and Marketing Company's in-house legal department. Prior to ascending to the judiciary, Silverman served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Oklahoma Attorney General in the civil rights division before returning to Miami to clerk for Judge Frederika Smith. In 1985 he opened his own legal practice.

Scott J. Silverman is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association (1981) and the Florida Bar (1983).

Judicial Service

On September 4, 1990, Dade County voters elected Scott J. Silverman a judge of the Dade County Court. After taking the bench in January 1991, he served two terms in the county court working in both the criminal and civil divisions of the county court. He served in the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building (1991, 1993-1995 and 1997-1998), Joseph Caleb Center (1992), and the Miami Beach Satellite Courthouse (1995-1997). In 1996, Chief Judge Joseph P. Farina appointed him an Associate Administrative Judge, and he continued in that position until his elevation to the circuit court. In 1998, without opposition, Scott J. Silverman was elected a circuit court judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. He began his term in January 1999, and has served in the criminal (1999-2006), civil (2006-2010), and family (2006 and 2010–present) divisions of the circuit court. He currently presides in the family division of the circuit court.

While a circuit court judge, Silverman served as an Associate Judge on the Florida First District Court of Appeal (2006) and the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal (2001 and 2005).

In January 2004 Chief Judge Joseph P. Farina administratively designated Scott J. Silverman the court historian for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. Judge Silverman is a founder and trustee of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society.

Notable Cases

On December 6, 1991, Judge Scott J. Silverman interfered with and stopped an attack on a woman by her former boyfriend. Just minutes earlier, the attacker was placed on probation for battery by Judge Cindy Lederman. Once outside the courthouse, the attacker again battered the victim by dropping her to the sidewalk. Judge Silverman ordered that he stop, which he did, and escorted the defendant before the previous judge who immediately violated his probation and sentenced him to 60 days in jail.

In April 2001, Judge Scott J. Silverman sentenced a criminal defendant to 9 1/2 years in prison after he was convicted of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury to a state trooper on I95.

On May 1, 2001, Judge Scott J. Silverman sentenced Roberto Suarez to life imprisonment plus 35 years fatally burning TV psychic Addy Tejeiro and blowing up her shop.

On June 15, 2001, Judge Scott J. Silverman vacated Jerry Frank Townsend's two Dade County, Florida murder convictions and a rape conviction. Townsend, who had served 22 years in prison for those convictions and four other murder convictions emanating from Broward County, Florida, was ordered released by the judge after DNA evidence demonstrated Townsend had not committed the crimes to which he had confessed and was found guilty.

In November 2001, Judge Scott J. Silverman sentenced a former Miami-Dade patrol officer to state prison after the officer was convicted of unlawful compensation and official misconduct for purportedly pressuring a 19-year-old motorist into having sex instead of ticketing her.

In November 2001, Judge Scott J. Silverman presided over a case in which two Hialeah police officers, both sons of the Chief of the Hialeah Police Department, were charged with battery and official misconduct. Both defendants were acquitted by the jury.

In April 2003, Florida Marlin's pitcher Livan Hernández entered a plea before Judge Scott J. Silverman. The 1997 World Series MVP accepted a plea agreement after Hernandez allegedly swung golf clubs at a 65-year-old man in Miami.

In February 2004, as part of negotiated plea with prosecutors, Judge Scott J. Silverman sentenced Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi of Boston's Winter Hill Gang to concurrent terms of life without parole, plus 30 years for the 1982 slaying of John B. Callahan, a Boston accountant and former World Jai Alai president. Also, as part of a negotiated plea with prosecutors, John Martorano pleaded guilty before Judge Silverman to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the 1982 slaying of Callahan.

In November 2008, Judge Scott J. Silverman ruled that the members of the American Legion could continue in their Alhambra Circuit clubhouse. The City of Coral Gables wanted the structure back so it could possibly develop the property into offices.

In 2009, Judge Scott J. Silverman declared a mistrial and dismissed a case. During a momentary sidebar, the plaintiff texted information to its testifying witness on matters relating to the case. Notable litigants whose cases have appeared before Judge Scott J. Silverman: Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., aka Lil' Wayne; former Green Bay Packers fullback Najeh Davenport; Robin Givens;

Notable Projects

Restoration of Courtroom 6-1 in the Dade County Courthouse - The project to restore courtroom 6-1 of the Dade County Courthouse to its original luster began unofficially on September 6, 2003, with a Miami Herald article written by Scott J. Silverman entitled, "Courthouse is Miami's Jewel." The purpose of the article was to herald the courthouse's 75th anniversary and to present a public challenge. In the last two sentences of the article, Silverman wrote, "On the 75th anniversary of the courthouse dedication, our community should set as a goal the restoration of the historic sixth-floor courtrooms to their original 1928 condition. The courthouse deserves it, and so does our community." Robert Fiore and Joseph Serota, presidents of the Dade County Bar Association, took up the challenge, and along with Silverman led the effort to restore the courtroom.

The project's successful completion occurred nearly five years later, when on June 5, 2008, the fully restored courtroom was formally dedicated.

Courtroom 6-1 f/k/a 630 is the Dade County Courthouse's most historic courtrooms and has hosted many historically significant trials. In 1930, Judge E.C. Collins, a judge of the Criminal Court of Record for Dade County, tried and acquitted notorious gangster Alphonse Capone for perjury in the courtroom. In 1932, famed British aviator William N. Lancaster was tried and acquitted there for the murder of Hayden Clarke. The trial, presided over by Circuit Court Judge Henry Fulton Atkinson, grabbed the world's attention with testimony about the sordid love triangle between Lancaster, Clarke, and Mrs. Jesse "Chubbie" Miller, a noted aviator. The trial would later become the center piece of both Ralph Barker's 1986 book, Verdict on a Lost Flyer, and the Australian television mini-series, The Lancaster-Miller Affair.

On February 20, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, the would-be assassin of President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, appeared before Judge E.C. Collins in the courtroom. There, he pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted murder, including the attempt he made on Roosevelt's life. Shortly thereafter, Circuit Court Judge Uly O. Thompson sentenced Zangara to death when Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak died from the wound inflicted upon him by Zangara.

On March 8, 1935, Judge Collins, who previously presided over Capone's and Zangara's cases in courtroom 6-1, was himself tried in the same courtroom. Prosecutors charged the judge with embezzlement and bribery. After 20 hours of deliberations, the jury deadlocked and Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jefferson B. Brown of Key West, declared a mistrial. Prosecutors later uncovered irrefutable evidence that Collins had not only personally lied on the witness stand, but had suborned perjury. The disgraced judge immediately resigned his office.

In 1966, courtroom 6-1 became the venue of the Mossler murder trial, another "Trial of the century." Candace Mossler and her nephew and alleged lover, Melvin Lane Powers, were accused of murdering her millionaire husband, Jacques Mossler. A jury acquitted the pair.

Today, courtroom 6-1 looks much the way it did in September 1928 when the courthouse opened to the public for the first time. It remains a working courtroom, but is also used for judicial investitures, chief judge elections, and a host of community events. Eleventh Judicial Circuit Centennial (1911-2011) - On June 10, 2011, Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit celebrated its 100th Anniversary. Judge Scott J. Silverman was instrumental in marking this milestone in the Miami-Dade County community and throughout the state of Florida. The celebration began in earnest with the creation of the centennial artwork by internationally recognized artist Romero Britto, who along with two dozen Miami-Dade County school students, drew and painted the canvasses.

The centennial kick-off took place in September 2010, at the historic Coconut Grove Women's Club. That was followed by Judge Silverman's mock trial of Alphone Capone's 1930 perjury trial in courtroom 6-1 of the Dade County Courthouse. The event was covered by theThe New York Times, Chicago Television, the Miami Herald, and the Associated Press. As in real life, Capone was once again acquitted - this time by a jury. The Centennial was capped off with a gala dinner at Miami's JW Marriott Marquis in May 2011.

Awards and honors

Justice Award, presented by The League of Prosecutors of Florida, 2011. The annual award is presented to a local judge who best embodies the judicial temperament and intellect that attorneys and current and former prosecutors like to see on the bench. The judge is one who has had a great impact on the South Florida Judicial system.

David C. Brotemarkle Award, presented by the Florida Historical Society, 2011.

Hall of Fame, Miami Beach Senior High School, inducted 2010

Public Service Award from the Attorneys' Division of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, 2010

Silverman Award presented by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society, 2007. The award is named in honor of its first recipient, Judge Scott J. Silverman, and is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions towards the preservation of the history of the 11th Judicial Circuit. Subsequent award winners have been 11th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Joseph P. Farina (2008), attorney Joseph H. Serota (2009), and Circuit Court Judge Beth Bloom (2010).

Distinguished Community Service Award, presented by the Dade Heritage Trust, April 29, 2004.

President’s Merit Citation, presented by the Florida Historical Confederation, May 22, 2003.

Herbert Harley Award, presented by the American Judicature Society, June 22, 2000. This award is the organization's premier state honor and is reserved for individuals that make outstanding efforts and contributions that substantially improve the administration of justice in their state. Other Florida recipients include Janet Reno, Chesterfield Smith, and Reubin Askew.

Judge Harvey Ford Leadership Award, presented by The Conference of County Court Judges of Florida, July 30, 1998. This award is the conference's highest honor.

Articles and publications

Silverman, S.J., "Time of buildings to Reflect Vibrant Justice System," The Miami Herald, December 29, 2011

Silverman, S.J., "A South Florida Legal Brief," The Green Bag - An Entertaining Journal of Law, 14 Green Bag 2d 467 (2011)

Silverman, S.J., “Restoring History: The Dade County Courtroom Restoration Project,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Winter/Spring 2009

Silverman, S.J. and Panter, B. A., “A Campaign to Remember: The 1922 Election for Circuit Court Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Winter/Spring 2009

Silverman, S.J. and Kuntz, R. J., “The Lynching of Ruben Stacey,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Spring 2008

Silverman, S.J. “The Rise and Fall of Judge E.C. Collins,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Spring 2008

Silverman, S.J. “The 1904 Dade County Courthouse,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Fall 2007

Silverman, S.J. “History Rediscovered: The Dade County Courthouse Confederate Monument,” 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society, Fall 2007

Silverman, S.J. and Leyte-Vidal, H., Living with the Death Penalty, Judicature, March–April 2006

Silverman, S.J. and George, P.S. "Judge Henry Fulton Atkinson," South Florida History, 2006

Silverman, S.J. “'Separate, but Equal’ by Design,” The Miami Herald, June 16, 2005

Silverman, S.J. "Courthouse is Miami's Jewel," The Miami Herald, September 6, 2003

Silverman, S.J. "Merit selection: Best system for choosing judges," The Miami Herald, July 23, 1999

Silverman, S.J. "The Florida Supreme Court Takes Aim at Unethical Judicial Campaign Conduct," Judicial Conduct Reporter (A publication of the American Judicature Society), Winter-Spring 1998

Silverman, S.J., "They All Deserve Credit," The Miami Herald, March 5, 1997

Silverman, S.J., "Imposing and Recouping Attorneys’ Fees from Publicly Represented Criminal Defendants," The Florida Bar Journal, May 1996

Silverman, S.J. "Think 'Mandatory Penalties' Before You Drink", The Miami Herald, December 23, 1991

Silverman, S.J. and Colby, J.T., "Expanding the Role of Jurors in Florida Courts," The Florida Bar Journal, October 1991

Silverman, S.J. and Potash, R.J., "Impairment of Earning Capacity as an Element of Damages," The Florida Bar Journal, November, 1990

Videos

Judge Scott J. Silverman, wrote, directed, produced and narrated, "The Dade County Courthouse: A History in Progress," in 2003. The 43 minute video premiered before the Dade County Bar Association. Currently, the video is shown during orientation to all prospective jurors in Miami-Dade County.

Judge Scott J. Silverman, wrote, directed, produced and narrated, "'Groundbreaking." The 8 minute video was shown to all attendees at the groundbreaking for the restoration of courtroom 6-1 of the Dade County Courthouse on May 15, 2007.