Prior to serving in the Circuit Civil Division, Judge Frink was assigned to the Unified Family Court Division presiding over Dissolution of Marriage, Child Custody and Support, Name Changes, Adoptions, Paternity Suits, and Modification proceedings. Judge Frink is also on the panel that hears county to circuit appeals. Judge Frink is currently assigned to the Circuit Civil Division presiding over a broad category of cases, including tort cases, contract disputes, products liability and malpractice cases, infringements of intellectual property, enforcement of non-compete contracts, and petitions for injunctive relief. As a lawyer, he said Frink was "very aggressive when it came to defending his clients, no matter what side he was on."įrink's parents, Peter and Emily, are retired Melbourne City Hall employees.In 2016, Judge Keathan Frink was appointed to Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida. Odom described Frink as "mild-mannered, very studious" on the job. The whole county benefits from that," he said. Efficient and fair across the board, and understand the differences of the people that come before him in the interest of justice. "You have someone like Keathan who comes from a great background, great upbringing, who can be fair across the board. You have to have a judiciary that's diversified," Odom said. Many people come through the courthouse doors, whether they be white, black, Hispanic, Asian. It's critical to have someone who not only is an African-American, but someone who has the competence and the temperament to sit on the bench and have a diverse background. "The old term is, when a wave rises, all ships on that wave rise with it. Reddick Bar Association, Broward County's black bar association.īroward County's population of 1.9 million people is 39 percent white, 29 percent black, and 28 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to 2015 U.S. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminology and criminal justice from Florida State University in 1997, and he earned his law degree from the University of Florida in 2000.ĭuring his law career, he logged service as an assistant public defender in Hillsborough and Broward counties litigated medical malpractice, criminal defense and insurance defense in private practices and supervised the homicide division with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel in Broward.įrink is one of only seven black judges out of roughly 100 judges on the bench in Broward, said George Odom Jr. He is president of the T.J. You can have issues with the tax consequences of dividing the asset, the homes, the property," he said.įrink went to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School and Hoover Middle before attending Mel-Hi, and he worked at Fazoli's and Albertsons in Melbourne. "So for instance, if the married couple developed a business together, how is the business going to be divided between the husband and wife? When you're dealing with large companies, large businesses, a lot of money's at stake. But also with respect to the assets between two parties, between the husband and wife - there can be some serious, complex issues with that," Frink said. "There's issues with where the child will live: It's called a two-parenting plan, or time-sharing plan. And that's one of the things that I find enjoyable and challenging with this area," he said.ĭuring his early days on the bench, Frink said he's been struck by the variety of intricacies that come into play in family law cases, particularly divorces. Not only emotional complexities, but also the legal complexities. "It's an area that's kind of hidden from many people, in terms of the complexities that can become involved in these types of cases. Friday at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.įrink presides over dissolution of marriages, child custody and support, adoptions, paternity lawsuits and other domestic cases. His investiture - or formal robing ceremony - takes place at 1 p.m. 19, and he is now a family court judge handling cases in Broward, Florida's second-most populous county. The 41-year-old Melbourne native was sworn in Dec. He said nothing but great things and encouraged me, said I'll do a great job. I was very, very pleased to get that phone call," he said. Very pleasantly surprising. He was very nice and very gracious. And I'm going to appoint you to be a judge there,'" Frink recalled. Rick Scott, and I'm calling to let you know I'm going to appoint you to the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County. "He identified himself and said, 'This is Gov. Shortly after Election Day, Keathan Frink was busy preparing a motion in a wrongful death case in his Plantation law office when his cell phone rang - and the 1993 Melbourne High graduate received a sudden career-changing promotion.
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