Broward Circuit Judge Ari Abraham Porth has been named the recipient of the prestigious Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Annual Award, an honor 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.
Judge Porth, who presides over Felony Mental Health Court, one of the 17th Judicial Circuit’s problem-solving courts, is a former assistant state attorney and state legislator. He was sworn in to the Circuit Court in 2013.
“All of us in the 17th Judicial Circuit congratulate Judge Ari Porth on receiving the Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award. 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,” said Chief Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips.
The St. Thomas More Society of South Florida presented Judge Porth with the award on October 15, 2025, at the St. Thomas More Red Mass & Dinner held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale.
“Treatment of the most vulnerable in our society is where I have focused my attention in the legislature and on the bench. And I am grateful to our chief judge Carol-Lisa Phillips and her predecessors Jack Tuter and Peter Weinstein for allowing me to serve in this role,” Judge Porth 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.”
Previous recipients 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).
