Jesse Scheckner
Lawyers Mark Robens of Dade City and Marlon Weiss of Hollywood will now don Judge’s robes.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Robens and Weiss to the benches of the 6th and 17th Judicial Circuit Courts, respectively.
Robens, a partner at the Sticher Riedel Blain & Postler PA law firm since 2022, is filling a vacancy created by Judge James Stearns, who informed DeSantis by letter Oct. 1 of his plan to retire at the end of March after a decade leading court proceedings.
The Judicial Nominating Commission of the 6th Circuit, which serves the citizens of Pasco and Pinellas counties, recommended Robens and five others as suitable successors to Stearns on March 17.
Weiss, who has been a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP since 2021, fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Judge Jack Tuter, who sent the Governor a letter Feb. 10 telling him he would step down May 1 after 20 years on the bench.
Weiss said in a statement that he is “overjoyed and humbled by the opportunity to serve the people of Broward County.”
“I’m forever grateful to everyone who helped make this possible,” he said.
17th Circuit Chief Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips said, “We are pleased to welcome Judge Weiss to the bench.”
The Judicial Nominating Commission of the 17th Circuit, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale and serving Broward County, nominated Weiss and five others to succeed Tuter.
DeSantis made the appointments Monday.
Robens, who specializes in business and bankruptcy law, earned his Juris Doctor from Stetson University and his bachelor’s degree from St. John Vianney College Seminary. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2014, the same year he joined his current firm.
Weiss, a commercial litigator and board-certified appellate lawyer, earned his law degree from Emory University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008, and previously served as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida. He also worked for five years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Office of the Florida Attorney General in Miami.
2 comments
Larry Gillis, Director-at-Large, Libertarian Party of Florida
May 19, 2025 at 7:55 pm
THE GOLD STANDARD.
I know nothing about either of these appointees. This is as good an opportunity to remind us all of the Gold Standard, as established by New Hampshire, in Article One, Section 35 of its Constitution: ” … It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as the lot of humanity will admit …”.
Larry Gillis, Director-at-Large, Libertarian Party of Florida
May 19, 2025 at 7:57 pm
Yes, I grew up — in all relevant ways — in New Hampshire. These are some of my favorite words. Maybe I should set them to music.