Ask Judge Smith

Counting work blessings and reporting progress

It is my honor to serve as your circuit judge. Having served in that role for 19 months, I want to update you on how it’s going. This column should give you a feel for how my office works.

Thirty-five thousand people live in Wakulla County. As your only circuit judge, I handle felony cases, family law cases, and civil lawsuits. My docket covers everything you can imagine and then some. That said, I am not a one-person band. Allow me to identify other key participants.

My judicial assistant, Deanna Gravius, and I are blessed to work with a team of public servants who help us daily.

Our family law magistrate, Dina Foster, and our child support hearing officer, Jackie Smith, do incredible jobs. They have tremendous work ethics and are fair and impartial. Each plays an indispensable role. Thank you, ladies!

We work daily with our Clerk-of-Court, Greg James, and his staff. They keep the case files and assist me during hearings and trials. I depend on them every day. Thank you, clerks!

Sheriff Jared Miller and his deputies keep the courthouse safe and transport inmates back and forth from the jail to the courthouse. My bailiffs, Chris Savary, and Rocky Strickland, and their team handle courtroom security, which allows me to focus on my job. Thank you, gentlemen!

County Judge Brian Miller covers some circuit court duties. He regularly hears juvenile and dependency cases, handles warrants and first appearances, and covers overflow work. Thank you, Judge Miller, for being a good team player and my confidant.

My judicial assistant is the key to my productivity. Deanna handles my scheduling and keeps me on task. She is as good as it gets, and I am most grateful for her. Deanna is priceless.

Now, let’s focus on how my office structures its work month. We reserve two weeks to cover our criminal docket and two-and-a-half weeks to cover our civil and family law dockets. We calendar up to 10 of those days for jury trials. I field and decide emergency motions daily and hold protective injunction hearings every 14 days.

We backfill time that opens up due to eleventh-hour settlements or pleas. I spend open time reading the law and writing orders. There is always something to do.

I handle criminal hearings, jury trials, and injunction hearings in person at the Wakulla County Courthouse. I hear most lawsuit and family law hearings by Zoom from the Leon County Courthouse.

During the last 18 months, Deanna and I culled our dockets. On July 1, 2023, the chief judge assigned us 1,166 pending cases. Since then, we have closed 927 cases, and litigants have filed more. As of Jan. 31, 2024, only 824 cases remain pending. Over the last 19 months, our closure rate has been 112.50 percent, surpassing the burn rate mandated by the Supreme Court. In the future, our goal will be to resolve one case for every new one that gets filed.

The Honorable J. Layne Smith is a bestselling author and public speaker. He serves as the Circuit Judge for Wakulla County, Florida.