A Judicial Profile
by Mark A. Sylvester*
Judge Lawrence A. Schwartz has served Miami-Dade County for 17 years from the bench. A native of Miami, and a fourth generation Floridian, Judge Schwartz is proud to have had the opportunity to serve Miami in a role that he believes allows him to best help his community. Law, however, was a second career choice for Judge Schwartz.
After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1967 with a degree in sociology and psychology, the judge went on to obtain his Masters in Education at Florida Atlantic University. With that degree in hand, he taught the 6th grade for 5 years. It was during his years teaching that he met his wife, Judge Caryn Schwartz; who was teaching at Miami Beach High School at the time.
Together, they made the decision to move to Sacramento, California, where the Judge enrolled in law school at the McGeorge School of Law. After graduating in 1978, Judge Schwartz took a job in Sacramento in a transactional legal setting; however it wasn’t long before he was drawn to the courtroom.
“Throughout law school I never had a desire to be in the courtroom, but after I graduated I would have lunch on a daily basis with some of my friends who were prosecutors with the District Attorney’s office, “ he said. “They told the greatest stories about their experiences in the courtroom. I just had to give it a try.”
Less than a year after graduating law school, the judge found himself in the Sacramento District Attorney’s office; and it was there that he fell in love with the courtroom.
“I discovered that I had a real aptitude for trial practice, and really began to enjoy working in the courtroom,” he said. “It was a great experience, and had Miami not have called us home, I probably would have made a career in that office.”
The judge stayed with the Sacramento D.A.’s office for 8 years. He spent the last few years prosecuting consumer fraud cases and was one step away from being a supervisor when he and his wife decided to return to their roots in Miami with their son.
Of course, during this time, his wife Caryn Schwartz had graduated from law school herself. So with two lawyers in the family, they returned to Miami in 1987. Judge Schwartz made the natural transition to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office where he prosecuted cases in the Economic Crimes Unit and his wife was hired to work at Steel Hector and Davis.
In 1990, the opportunity presented itself for Judge Schwartz to run for the bench. The difficult choice was whether to run for County Court or Circuit Court. The judge made the decision to run for a County Court seat, which he thought would provide him with a more diverse and broader experience to supplement his work in the criminal field.
Judge Schwartz was elected to the County Court in 1990, and took the bench in 1991. In 1996, he was assigned as a judge in the Backup Division pilot program in the Circuit Court General Jurisdiction. The Backup Division was a division started in the criminal court for the trial of cases expected to take 10 days or longer. In 1996 and 1997, the Circuit Court began experimenting and implementing the program, and due to Judge Schwartz’s experience, he was asked to preside.
Presiding in the back-up division of the Circuit Court made for a smooth transition when in 1997, Judge Schwartz was appointed by Governor Chiles to the Circuit Court. In his first year in the Circuit Court, Judge Schwartz continued in his role in the Back-up Division. Then in 1998, he rotated to the criminal court. In 2002, he returned to civil, and in 2005, he rotated back to the criminal court. Judge Schwartz is due for one more rotation in 2009; that rotation will be back to the civil court.
“I really enjoy serving the community from the bench,” I feel as though I’m giving something back and helping people everyday,” the judge said.
An educator at heart, Judge Schwartz is of the firm belief that education should be encouraged not only for the youth in society, but for everyone.
“Unfortunately, a large percentage of people that come before me in the courtroom on criminal charges are high school dropouts,” he said. “From a sociological standpoint, education does play a large factor in helping people stay out of the courtroom, whether it is the ability to obtain a better and higher paying job, or knowledge of the consequences, in my experience there seems to be a direct correlation,” the judge said.
“While I don’t think you can force an education on someone, or make a judgement on whether a person is capable of completing an educational program, or even whether that path is the best path for that person, I do everything I can to encourage education,” he said.
With great success, Judge Schwartz has incorporated his beliefs on education into his work in the courtroom. “When I put someone on probation that does not have a high school education, or that is continuing with their education, I trade them community service hours for their schooling hours and credit,“ the judge said. “For every hour they are in the classroom they can trade it in against 1 hour of community service or their probation. Similarly, if they get good grades that will also cut down on their probation and community service hours.”
Judge Schwartz also encourages education by speaking at local school and community meetings and gatherings.
Outside of the courtroom, the Judge enjoys antique collecting, gourmet cooking, gardening, and working with ornamental plants.
He has the proud father of two sons, Scot and Jeremy, and, as mentioned, the husband of Judge Caryn Schwartz; which begs the question, what’s it like being married to another judge.
“It’s not really any different than any other marriage or relationship, except my wife is very competitive,” he says with a smile. “When she sees me trying something and having fun, I think she says to herself, that looks like a good idea, let’s see if I can do it better. So, I went to law school, she went to law school; I became a judge, she became a judge; I took up racquetball, she took up racquetball; but I stopped playing racquetball after she almost broke my nose. Now, when it comes to cooking, well, she’s relinquished that title to me.”
Mark A. Sylvester is a partner at the law firm of Leesfield, Leighton & Partners, P.A. He specializes in representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases.
