Judge Gordon C. Murray named Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award winner
Judge Gordon Murray
The Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism and the Standing Committee on Professionalism named Miami-Dade County Judge Gordon C. Murray the 2023 William M. Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award winner.
The award recognize an active judge who best exemplifies strength of character, service, and competence as a jurist, lawyer, and public servant.
“Judge Murray demonstrates the ideals of professionalism and justice while inspiring others to do the same,” according to the Center for Professionalism.
Judge Murray attended the University of Miami, where he received his B.A. in politics and public administration and earned his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. He has been on the bench for 10 years. Beginning his judicial career as a general magistrate in the 11th Circuit, where he served for five years before being appointed to the county court in 2017. Judge Murray has presided over a wide range of civil cases and was appointed administrative judge of the County Court Civil Division in less than two years. The 11th Circuit’s County Court Civil Division is the largest in Florida, with 22 judges handling over 185,000 pending cases in 2021.
Judge Murray helped to create CourtHELP, an online early dispute resolution portal to assist landlords and tenants. He also helped create the FWOP calendar automation system that reduced FWOP-eligible cases from over 35,000 to 1,500 by the end of 2021.
“Judge Murray has a strong passion for mentoring and helped develop a mentoring program for law students throughout Florida with his son’s Innovative Community Engagement Foundation,” according to the Center for Professionalism. “The mentoring program is based on a model of professionalism that emphasizes the importance of integrity, civility, and excellence. As part of the program, Judge Murray has personally mentored many young lawyers providing them with guidance and advice on everything from legal strategy to courtroom decorum. His work on this project has deeply impacted the legal community in Florida and led to him being appointed as a Supreme Court Certified Mentor Judge by former Chief Justice Canady in 2019 and reappointed to the same role in 2021.”
In 2022, Judge Murray was featured in a CLE series created by the Center for Professionalism and hosted by attorney Paul Lipton, “Your Honor.” His episode can be viewed free and on-demand on the center’s webpage. The William M. Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award, and other professionalism awards, will be presented at Annual Judicial Luncheon June 22 at The Boca Raton during The Florida Bar Annual Convention.
