David A. Haimes receives American Board of Trial Advocates Jurist of the Year honors

Judge David A. Haimes needs to clear some space on the mantle.

Haimes, who is now in his 15th year on the 17th Judicial Circuit bench, just received a Jurist of the Year honor from the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

He earned the award, an inscription on the trophy said, “In recognition of (his) service and dedication in preserving the jury system for future generations.”

Chief Judge Jack Tuter said Haimes is well-deserving.

“He is a dedicated, hard-working public servant,” Tuter said in a statement. “On behalf of the 17th Judicial Circuit, we congratulate Judge Haimes and wish him continued success on the bench.”

According to his bio with the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association, Haimes was born and raised in South Florida. He earned an accounting degree and his Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame.

He then clerked for United States District Judges William J. Zlock and William P. Dimitrouleas and worked as a civil trial lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, an Assistant Broward State Attorney and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida.

In 2007, while working on the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force as an Assistant U.S. State Attorney, he received the John Marshall Award for Trial in Litigation from the U.S. Department of Justice. That award came after a case Haimes worked on “culminated in the successful prosecution of one of the nation’s longest-running criminal syndicates,” the Trellis law firm said.

Haimes was appointed in 2010 to the 17th Judicial Circuit, first working as a Circuit Judge in the Criminal Division before transferring in 2017 to the Civil Division.