It took until 1989 for Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit – which includes Vero Beach – to swear in its first female judge. History was made again this year when, due to new docket assignments, all Indian River County judges are women, including county and circuit judges.
The Indian River County bench now includes Circuit Court judges Cynthia Cox, Victoria Griffin, Anastasia Norman and Rebecca White, along with County Court judges Robyn Stone and Nicole Menz.
For those who aren’t super-familiar with the court system, “County Courts, sometimes called ‘the people’s courts,’ are courts of limited jurisdiction where criminal misdemeanor and small civil cases are heard. In the Circuit Courts, which are the highest state trial courts in Florida, felony criminal, civil, family, juvenile and probate matters are heard,” according to court authorities.
Circuit Court judges can be assigned to serve as county judges to handle crowded dockets.
Judges are typically elected but can be appointed by the governor when a vacancy occurs due to retirement, death or some other reason. To stay on the bench, they must face the voters when the term of their appointment is over.
The six female judges now presiding over Indian River County courts have several important things in common. They are experienced litigators deemed worthy by the governor, the voters or both, to resolve disputes and carry out Florida’s civil and criminal laws. Most of them don’t consider themselves trailblazers or “lady lawyers” first, but they are grateful to the generation of women like Judge Martha Warner who paved the way for them in the courtroom.
Warner served 36 years on the bench until mandatory retirement age when she stepped down from the Fourth District Court of Appeal on Sept. 30.
Circuit Court judge Cynthia Cox was admitted to Florida Bar in 1986 – three years before Warner donned her black robe.
Reflecting on this year’s new all-female bench, Cox, a Vero Beach High School alum who went on to earn her law degree from Florida State University’s Levin School of Law, remembers a very different time.
She said she endured her share of condescending comments as she built her career and became a judge in 1996. But she saw the legal profession slowly evolve and jokes that, “there’s nobody left to ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’ us now!”
“I moved back to Indian River County from Sarasota in 1989 and I opened my law practice here, right across the street,” Cox said from her chambers at the Indian River County Courthouse. “I had a tough time because the only other female attorney was Dorothy Hudson, she was representing John’s Island. There was another lawyer, but she never really practiced. I had to learn to be tough.”
As only the third female judge in the circuit, which covers Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties, Cox had to prove herself and exceed expectations by demonstrating her legal knowledge. That meant long days and nights researching case law and crafting thorough and thoughtful orders that would stand up to scrutiny.
In her private practice, Cox specialized in divorces and child custody cases – an area of the law which continues to be a passion of hers. Seeing how many family court litigants were not represented by lawyers in court, Cox developed a system of legal forms they could use, and that led to the self-serve pro se litigant facilities Vero has today. She also fought to get Vero’s mental health court established and funded.
Whether it was jockeying for a parking space, biting her lip through the jabs and jokes about women, or the isolation of not getting an invite to what was very much an old boys’ club, it all made her more resilient.
“I’m glad that I entered when it was harder,” Cox said.
County Court Judge Nicole Menz represents the next generation of Vero’s female litigators. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1995, the year before Cox became a judge, after graduating from Valparaiso University School of Law.
She served as a prosecutor for eight years and had a successful family and criminal defense practice with law partner Jeffrey Battista for 14 years until becoming a St. Lucie County judge in 2018.
Menz said becoming a judge is her greatest career achievement but added that sparking an interest in the law among younger women has become part of her job, too.
Back when Menz got her legal training, women were still outnumbered roughly 2 to 1 in American law schools, but in 2016 the scales tipped, with females making up 51 percent of students entering law school. By 2024, 41 percent of Florida Bar members were women.
Circuit Court judge Victoria Griffin was admitted to Florida Bar in 2003 after earning her degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. She recalls joining Cox as the only other female judge in Vero in 2015, and apparently a lot had changed in the preceding decade.
“I have never experienced a situation where I was treated differently or disrespected because of being a female judge,” she said.
Griffin called the responsibility of being a judge “a heavy weight because decisions in the courtroom change lives,” but also said that “being a judge is truly an honor and a blessing,” regardless of gender.
“My ultimate goal as a judge is to improve the lives of those in our communities by assisting individuals in resolving conflicts,” she said. “I strive every day to really listen; to treat everyone with patience and respect; to follow the law; and to be fair in my decisions, while setting aside personal feelings and beliefs.”
A few years after Griffin and Menz became judges, Robyn Stone was appointed to the bench in 2020, starting her tenure as a county judge in Indian River County in the midst of chaotic pandemic court operations.
Admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006 after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law, Stone took a circuitous route to the bench.
After completing her undergraduate studies at Davidson College, before going to law school, Stone taught middle school in North Carolina for two years and gained skills she uses every day in the courtroom to make parties less anxious about their court proceedings.
“As a county judge, I deal with a tremendous number of people who are not represented, and often it’s their first time in court,” Stone said, adding that people often are nervous and unsure about court procedures and legal terms.
“I take the time to explain to people why they’re here what their options are,” she said. “It’s really important as a county court judge to make sure that these folks, especially the ones that aren’t represented, feel comfortable when they come in and feel they’re treated fairly when they have their day in court.
“Not everybody’s going to be happy. There’s usually a winner and a loser. But I try to explain why I rule a certain way,” she said, adding that skills she learned as a teacher help her explain the court process to people without a legal background.
When Stone returned to Florida, she went to work at State Attorney Bruce Colton’s office, serving as an assistant state attorney for 14 years in both Indian River and St. Lucie counties.
As an Indian River County judge, she splits the workload with Judge Menz, handling half of the criminal and civil county court cases, including misdemeanors, criminal and civil traffic violations, county civil cases, small claims and evictions. She also presides over the Indian River County Felony Drug Court.
Circuit Court judges Rebecca White and Judge Anastasia Norman both were admitted to Florida Bar in 2007, hailing from Stetson University College of Law.
White – appointed to the bench in 2021 – stands out as a role model for women interested in becoming litigators or judges while raising families.
White navigated six pregnancies and cared for her half a dozen growing children while serving as an assistant state attorney for 14 years and then becoming a judge – which meant six transitions away from and back to work in her busy, competitive profession.
“I’m lucky that my husband helps a lot,” said White, who was pregnant when she took the bench. “My parents and my mother-in-law live locally and they help a lot. It takes a lot of family support, so I’m very lucky for that.”
Being a mom has given White great empathy when hearing issues involving young children.
While serving in Okeechobee County, she saw the need for minors involved in legal matters to get special consideration, so she set up a dedicated Early Childhood Court. Since rotating to Vero in 2025, White continues to preside over that court in Okeechobee and hopes to establish something similar in Vero.
Circuit Court judge Norman, appointed to the bench by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023, is the newcomer to the bench in Indian River County, having taken over Vero’s felony docket from Judge Robert Meadows in January, but she knows the court system well after serving as an assistant state attorney for 16 years. During her tenure as a prosecutor, Norman led the major crimes and violent sex crimes divisions out of the Fort Pierce office for three years. She also worked with law enforcement over the years to boost the legal knowledge of beat cops and detectives.
As a judge in St. Lucie County, she handled domestic relations and juvenile dependency and delinquency cases.
“One of the great things about being a judge is getting to handle all different types of law, so it was a neat experience having been a career prosecutor to go into family law and dependency and delinquency areas which I never practiced in. But of course, it’s also nice to go back to where my roots are, which is criminal law, so I’m excited,” Norman said.
Judicial assignments rotate every few years, and as judges retire or choose not to seek re-election.
The 19th Circuit has seen a flurry of retirements, and one removal of a judge over the past few years, bringing fresh talent – and more women – onto the bench more rapidly than in previous years. At present, 13 out of 28 county and circuit judges serving within the 19th Circuit are female.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
