Judge Ari Porth. {Cliff Frommer}
Broward Circuit Judge Ari Abraham Porth has been named the 2025 recipient of the Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Annual Award, recognizing members of the legal community who exemplify the moral principles of Saint Thomas More — the 16th-century judge, statesman, and humanitarian canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1535.
The St. Thomas More Society of South Florida presented Porth with the honor during the annual St. Thomas More Red Mass and Dinner on Oct. 15 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale.
Porth, a resident of Parkland, who has served on the bench since 2013, presides over the Felony Mental Health Court, one of the 17th Judicial Circuit’s problem-solving courts. Before becoming a judge, he worked as an assistant state attorney and served as a state legislator.
“All of us in the 17th Judicial Circuit congratulate Judge Ari Porth on receiving the Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award,” said Chief Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips. “Judge Porth is a shining star and so very deserving of the award. We thank him for his hard work and continued dedication to the Mental Health Court and the Mental Health Task Force.”
Porth said his career has been devoted to helping society’s most vulnerable. “Treatment of the most vulnerable in our society is where I have focused my attention in the legislature and on the bench,” he said. “In Courtroom 7810, we are pursuing justice every day, and persistently running after it as we engage with some of society’s most vulnerable — the mentally ill and intellectually disabled. I am honored beyond measure.”
Past recipients of the Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award from the 17th Judicial Circuit include Judge Elijah H. Williams (2024), Judge Edward H. Merrigan (2019), Judge Susan J. Aramony (posthumous, 2015), Judge Martin Bidwill (2007), and Judge Arthur M. Birken (2000).
The 17th Judicial Circuit Court, based in Fort Lauderdale, serves Broward County and is the second-largest circuit court in Florida, comprising 90 judges across four courthouses in Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Plantation, and Hollywood.
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