Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

Ginger Lerner-Wren, county court judge,
to speak at FSC's Florida Lecture Series

LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2003) - Florida Southern College's Center for Florida History welcomes Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, county court judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida, to the Florida Lecture Series Feb. 20. Lerner-Wren, the Robert A. Stahl Visiting Lecturer in Criminology, will speak on "Florida a Bellwether for the Nation?: Mental Health, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and America's First Mental Health Court." The lecture starts at 7 p.m. in the William M. Hollis Seminar Room on campus and is free and open to the public. 

"Having had the opportunity to observe Judge Lerner-Wren in the courtroom, I have been impressed by her insight, compassion, and ability to mete out justice in a way that is typically not engaged in by the traditional criminal justice system," said Dr. Risdon N. Slate, professor of criminology and chair of the sociology and criminology department. "Judge Lerner-Wren does what the traditional justice system inflexibly often times will not do, as her decisions are made with consideration of future ramifications for individuals, relationships, and society long after a person's contact with the criminal justice system has ceased." 

Lerner-Wren began her service on the Broward County Criminal Court in 1997. That same year she was appointed to administrate and preside over the nation's first Mental Health Court. This innovative specialized court was established to address the complexities of mentally ill offenders arrested for non-violent misdemeanors and to impose the administration of justice for those with serious mental and psychiatric disorders. The Mental Health Court is dedicated to the safe diversion, decriminalization, and treatment of mentally ill persons in the community. Lerner-
(more)
Wren was recently appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The commission will conduct a comprehensive study of the nation's mental health delivery system and advise the President on methods of improving the system.

About the Florida Lecture Series 
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History and sponsored by the FSC Alumni Association and the Robert A. Stahl Lecture Series in Criminology. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of "Florida Life and Culture" from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state's history and culture. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

###