"I remember seeing him there. I couldn't believe it because I really did wonder what happened to him," the judge said as she recognized an old middle school friend standing before her in bond court. Millions. That’s how many views one South Florida judge has racked up on social media. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer has announced she will run for another term to add to a career that has earned her a reputation as a calm, cool, fair-but-firm criminal court judge on the South Florida bench who has gained international acclaim. And it was all quite by accident. “I’ve had the benefit of serving in every division of the circuit court in the 11th Judicial Circuit,” Glazer said in summary of her nearly three decades in a robe. First elected in 2000 at 33 years old, the Miami native had designs on veterinarian school, followed by hopes of being a police officer, later scraping up enough money for law school, and continuing to get two additional master’s degrees. Glazer hasn’t looked back since. “I never thought I’d make it to this age. My mother died at 53, and I’m a little bit older than her [now], so I’m so glad to be alive and healthy,” Glazer said. “It’s hard to think about your future, but I have a lot of good years left in me. I am running for reelection next year. I haven’t filed yet. But I’m going to do so soon.” ‘The Right Thing to Do’
After graduating from the University of Miami and St. Thomas University College of Law followed by back-to-back master’s degrees, Glazer’s education is a catalyst for her passion to connect with people. One of those connections would be heard around the world in a chance encounter one June day in 2015 in a Miami courtroom. “I remember seeing him there. I couldn’t believe it because I really did wonder what happened to him,” Glazer said as she recognized an old middle school chum standing before her in bond court. In the exchange, Glazer asked 49-year-old Arthur Booth, “Did you go to Nautilus for middle school?” “Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness” is all the inmate could say as he too realized the judge was his old Miami Beach classmate, and Booth went from smiles to a flood of tears. “I was happy to see him, yet I was sad because obviously his life didn’t turn out the way I would have hoped,” Glazer said. “He had gambling issues or drug issues, and he wound up committing burglary.” The viral moment on one social media platform alone has more than 24 million views.
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