News Releases

JUDGE BETH BLOOM AND JUDGE ROBIN L. ROSENBERG TO RECEIVE DISTINGUISHED FEDERAL JUDICIAL SERVICE PRO BONO AWARD

Judge Beth Bloom

The Hon. Beth Bloom, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami and the Hon. Robin L. Rosenberg, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach, are joint recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Federal Judicial Service Award. The award, which honors outstanding and sustained service to the public especially as it relates to support of pro bono legal services, will be presented by Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz in a Jan. 18 ceremony streamed live by the Supreme Court of Florida.

Judge Robin L. Rosenberg

Judges Bloom and Rosenberg are individually deserving of this year’s award; however, their combined effort has led to the development of the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions Program (CD3), a unique educational program that promotes positive decision making and civility among high school and college students across the country.

In early 2017, Judges Bloom and Rosenberg envisioned and created CD3 in connection with the national outreach manager for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Court. Through CD3, students come to the federal courthouse and engage with volunteer lawyers and the presiding judge in discussions related to critical life skills, civil discourse and adult decisions with permanent legal consequences.

The three-hour program is led by Judges Bloom and Rosenberg and coordinated through the local Federal Bar Association’s (FBA) Civics Outreach Committee. The Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions Program is now featured on the FBA’s national website, and it continues to expand into other jurisdictions, in large part due to the ongoing efforts of Judges Bloom and Rosenberg.

To date, the program has reached thousands of students from more than 30 high schools and colleges. Most recently, the program has grown to include first year law students, starting with Duke Law School, where it has already reached 240 students.

Judges Bloom and Rosenberg have also traveled to other federal courts and law schools all over the country to promote the implementation of this program and the curriculum they developed.

Note: Support of pro bono legal services by members of the bench is an activity that relates to improvement of the administration of justice. Accordingly, a judge may engage in activities intended to encourage attorneys to perform pro bono services, including, but not limited to participating in events to recognize attorneys who do pro bono work, establishing general procedural or scheduling accommodations for pro bono attorneys as feasible, and acting in an advisory capacity to pro bono programs.

This year’s awards ceremony, which also honors Individual, Circuit, Voluntary Bar, Law Firm, Young Lawyers Division and Distinguished Judicial Service, pro bono efforts, takes place at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 3:30 p.m. Watch it live on Facebook, WFSU: Gavel to Gavel and the Florida Channel.