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He's a judge's, and child's, best friend

A 41-year-old lawyer, one of five new magistrates in the 5th Circuit, will ease judges' caseloads and, he hopes, the trauma of children.

INVERNESS - Keith Schenck's office was packed.

Nine gray rolling chairs were squeezed into his office on the third floor of the county courthouse. He rolled a few around to make room to sit at a long wooden conference table. Before his arrival Oct. 1, the room was used by a judge. No one had cleared out the chairs yet.

Schenck grinned as he looked around the room. A sense of humor was a must in these first days. The hurricanes had forced judges to delay trials.

Now they had plenty for him to do.

Schenck, 41, is the new general magistrate, or special master, for the courthouse. Basically, he sits on the bench just as a judge does, but he can't issue a decision on his own. After he hears a case, he writes a recommendation for a judge, who decides whether to approve it.

Citrus County residents are most likely to appear before Schenck in family law matters, such as dependency cases. Both parties must agree that Schenck will hear the case. He will not hear criminal cases.

"Judges in civil courts can refer just about anything to me," he said.

Schenck sees himself as a natural fit for the job because of his passion for family law. Every child brought into the court system should be looked out for, he said.

"It's important that we focus back on the rights that kids have in these proceedings," he said.

Children brought into the court system are often in difficult situations, he said.

"The goal is not to abuse them any worse through our system."

David M. Trammell, trial court administrator for the 5th Circuit, was pleased to see the general magistrate program approved by the Legislature.

Unlike a previous program, which was limited to a few positions scattered throughout the circuits, the new program puts general magistrates in all circuits. The 5th Circuit has a magistrate for each of its five counties: Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Lake and Sumter. They make $70,929 a year.

The magistrates will speed up the legal process. "It allows people to have hearings more quickly," he said.

The Legislature has not approved new judges, so the magistrates will reduce the growing number of cases each judge must hear. Trammell said the circuit asked for six new judges last year. Legislators didn't approve any of them.

"We're kind of behind in judicial resources," he said.

The magistrates are trained as lawyers, but their limited powers don't allow them to take all of the responsibility a judge does, he said.

"We still need more judges," Trammell said. "(A general magistrate) is like an extension of the judge."

A Florida native, Schenck grew up in Gainesville, then graduated from Stetson University College of Law. He went into private practice, dealing with family law. From 1995 to 2000, he served as a law clerk at the courthouse. In 2000, he was hired as a general master at the Citrus County Courthouse in a pilot program funded by the state.

When the funding dried up, he served as the attorney for the Guardian Ad Litem program in Brooksville. The program provides volunteers to look out for children during family crises, through court proceedings and after the court decides the cases.

When the Legislature created the general magistrate program this year, Schenck returned to the courthouse.

Circuit Judge Barbara Gurrola, who hears civil cases, is thrilled that Schenck is back.

"It's already started easing (the load), particularly with Judge Hallman," Gurrola said. "Overall, he'll be a tremendous help to the judges here."

Gurrola said she and the other judges were impressed with Schenck's previous work at the courthouse.

"We know Keith and we know he's going to be a big help," she said.

Trammell agreed.

"He did an excellent job as a hearing officer before," he said. "He's very well thought of by judges."

Schenck's reputation of helping children navigate through the court system is well known, Trammell said.

"He does a great service to the children of the district," he said.