THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING .....
YOUR NEXT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE IS .....
ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER KEVIN HELLMANN
According to AI, the chance of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime is about 1 in 15,300. The chances of an Assistant Public Defender getting appointed to the bench by Ron DeSantis went up dramatically last night, (now 1 in 92), when the Governor chose APD Kevin Hellmann to fill the open seat created by the elevation of Judge Gamez.
Kevin Hellmann joins Ayana Harris (Miami-Dade CC 2019) and Barry Dickson (Escambia CC 2020) as the only assistant public defenders appointed to the bench by the Governor while still employed as PDs.
To understand the magnitude of this appointment, Gov. DeSantis has appointed 276 judges in five years and THREE were sitting PDs. By contrast, 87 sitting ASAs/ AUSAs/AAGs, were appointed to the bench in the same amount of time. That’s right 87 to 3.
Kevin Hellmann must be very special.
Hellmann went to Harvard undergrad followed by Brooklyn Law School and he joined the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office in 1996. He has dedicated his entire 28-year career there and is currently a Training Director in the office.
Overall, DeSantis has appointed 276 judges to the bench between January of 2019 and June of 2024. In that time, 175 of those 276 (63.4%) were employed as an ASA, AUSA, or AAG at some point in their careers. By contrast, 16 of the 276 (5.7%) were APDs or AFPDs at some point in their career.
Congratulations to Kevin as he persevered like few others have done through the JNC process. Kevin applied to the JNC 14 times and his name was on the shortlist to the Governor's office a total of 12 times since he began his quest for appointment.
This is a great loss for the Public Defender’s Office but a much bigger gain for the citizens of Miami-Dade County.
Congratulations, Your Honor.
As Kevin always likes to say in closing:
Public Defender Pride !!!
Captain4Justice@gmail.com