Palm Coast Observer
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On the desk in her fourth-floor office at the Justice Center in Bunnell, County Judge Melissa Moore Stens has a calendar that has been meticulously color-coded to keep her on track. She uses whiteout to update it.

“If I get something three months in advance,” she said with a straight face, “I can work it into my schedule.”

That schedule includes getting up as early as 4:30 in the morning for exercise classes; getting her two children (Brady, 15, and Mia, 13) to school and supporting them at their sports and music performances; practicing and teaching yoga; attending conferences and teaching seminars for newly appointed “baby judges”; making civics presentations at elementary schools; and mentoring a student in the Take Stock in Children Program.

And then there’s her actual job: being a judge.

Most overworked in the state

A recent study identified Stens as the most overworked judge in the state. She is the lone county judge in Flagler County, one of two counties with a population as high as 100,000 but only one county judge.

When Stens was elected to her position in 2012, then-Clerk of Courts Gail Wadsworth said Stens would hear about 5,800 cases that year, more than double the average caseload of a county judge in Florida.

“There should have been another county judge here probably 20 years ago,” said Josh Davis, a local attorney.

It could finally happen: The Florida Supreme Court has recommended that a second county judge be included in the budget this year. It’s up to the Legislature to decide what to do next, and it’s not an easy decision because adding one here could mean that another county would lose a judge to free up funds for Flagler County.

Fortunately, Stens is efficient, organized and fair, according to Tom Bexley, who worked for Wadsworth for several years before succeeding her as clerk of courts on Jan. 3.

“She crushes the docket,” Bexley said. “That’s clerk talk meaning there is a tremendous case load, and she manages it very well.”

Still, one person can only do so much, and criminal cases take precedence over civil cases, Bexley said. That means some civil cases, such as tenant-landlord disputes or small claims, take longer to resolve than would be ideal — or they might receive less attention in court than the parties might like. Another judge is necessary in Flagler County, he said.

In the meantime, Stens is “quick and courteous. She’s tough but fair,” Bexley said. “She’s the epitome of a professional. She’s a dream judge, is what she is. I wish we could clone her.”

Life of a judge

One responsibility of a judge is to be impartial and to act in a way that will make it easy for the public to maintain trust in the system.

“You’re not supposed to show a lot of personality,” Stens said. “I don’t tell a lot of jokes or tell a lot of stories in court. I try to be very private.”

Being on social media, she said, “is explicitly discouraged.”

“I can say the job is very isolating,” she said to me. “You go to a social event, and you meet somebody, and you can talk about what you do for a living and get to know that person, whereas we’re not really permitted to do that. I can’t talk about any active case, or anything that could appear in front of me. I have to try to surround myself with people I don’t think are going to end up in front of me.”

Still, she finds satisfaction in helping people. Being a judge is public service.

“It is a dynamic courtroom,” she said. “People are coming in there because they’ve had a negative personal experience. My goal is to make it as peaceful as possible, and resolve the case as efficiently as possible, while giving them the opportunity to be heard and get a resolution they’ll be satisfied with.”

And so, while the judge is not supposed to be personally connected with people in a way that could compromise her decisions, Stens also wishes there were another judge in the county to free up more of her time and allow her to be more visible in the community.

“It’s important for kids and business owners in my community to know that I’m a real person, that I’m not this elusive person in a black robe,” she said. “I would like people to see me in a more professional, social setting, not just living in an ivory tower.”

What’s next for Stens?

Although Davis and Bexley agree Stens has excelled in her role in the county court, she may not be here for long. Stens’ resume shows a steady climb in everything she has worked on in the past, and she sees herself eventually moving up a level to the circuit court, which handles more serious crimes.

“She has ended up being wonderful. We couldn’t have done any better.”

JOSH DAVIS, attorney and former political competitor of Melissa Moore Stens

Particularly, she said, “I miss working with families.” In the circuit court, she might hear cases involving custody, child support and delinquency, among other things. She would oversee more trials than she does now, and she sees that as a strength.

And while she says she is still completely dedicated to her work in the county court, she has already applied to be appointed to fill vacancies in the Seventh Circuit. Each time, she has been denied, but she plans to continue to apply for future openings.

Bexley doesn’t think Stens will be here long: Someone else will likely replace her as a Flagler County judge — hopefully as one of two Flagler County judges. But she will be tough to replace.

“We hate to think that we won’t have someone quite as strong as her,” he said. Then he added, with a smile, “but if we have two, we won’t need someone quite a strong as her.”

“She’s been a great judge,” Davis said. And that says something coming from him, considering he ran against her for the job in 2012. Looking back, though, he said, “She has ended up being wonderful. We couldn’t have done any better.”