Event – St. Thomas More Society of South Florida

The evening will begin on October 15, 2025 at 5:30pm

With the traditional Red Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski

Saint Anthony Catholic Church 901 Northeast Second Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

We hope you’ll join us, whatever your faith may be, as we pray for God’s blessing upon the members of the Bench, Bar, Legislature, Law Enforcement and Governmental agencies, including all protectors and administrators of the Law.

Following the Mass there will be a reception at The Dalmar where our distinguished speaker Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz of the Florida Supreme Court will address the audience and the 2025 Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award will be presented to Hon. Ari Abraham Porth, Circuit Court Judge and a member of the legal community who typifies the moral principles espoused by St. Thomas More.

Reception Following Mass

6:15pm – 7:45pm

The Dalmar Hotel

299 N. Federal Hwy. Fort Lauderdale

954-945-9500

The 2025 Guest Speaker is the Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz

The Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court

Carlos G. Muñiz is the current Chief Justice, and the 89th Justice to serve, on the Florida Supreme Court he was appointed to the court by Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2019 and is the first Nicaraguan-American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. As Chief Justice, he oversees the state judicial system and acts as its spokesperson. He has also worked on initiatives to speed up civil case resolution. Justice Muñiz is scheduled for a merit retention vote in 2026.

Justice Muñiz holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Yale Law School and clerked for judges in federal courts. Before his appointment to the Florida Supreme Court, he held various public service roles, including positions in the Florida Attorney General’s office, the Florida House of Representatives, the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the office of Governor Jeb Bush. He also served as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education.

The 2025 Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy Award Winner

After graduating from Northeastern University in Boston, Ari served as a legislative aide to US Senator Bob Graham in Washington, DC where he corresponded with constituents and researched issues including veterans affairs and drugs on behalf of the Senator.

Ari moved home to South Florida to attend Nova Southeastern University School of law. After graduating, Ari served as an Assistant State Attorney for Broward County from 1995 to 2012.

From November of 2004 to November of 2012, he served the residents of Coral Springs, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Sunrise and North Lauderdale as their State Representative. Most notably, Ari sponsored and passed landmark legislation mandating autism therapies be covered by certain health insurers and divested the state’s pension system from investments in Iran and Sudan.

Additionally, Ari sponsored and passed legislation that protects victims of domestic violence by allowing employee leave of absence, limited liability to restaurants that donate food to shelters, created stricter background screenings for those that care for our most vulnerable, established a program within the Department of Juvenile Justice to help youth transition to success in adulthood, created the state’s first public college prep boarding school for at risk youth (formally known as the SEED School in Miami), raised the penalties for those that commit crimes upon the homeless, and worked on prison reform efforts including re-entry for non-violent offenders.

Ari was sworn in to the Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit in January of 2013 and sits on the Felony Mental Health Court bench. He presently chairs the 17th Circuit’s Mental Health Task Force and serves on the executive board of the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges and the Area Agency on Aging. Ari volunteers with the Nova Middle School Law Magnet Program and is an active member of the Florida Judicial Wellness Committee and the Justice Unit.

Ari has been honored with recognitions including the TJ Reddick Bar Association Exceptional Service to the Community Award, the Broward County Bar Association Tzedek Award, the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency Judicial Distinguished Service Award, the Broward Recovery Robert Koch & Marcia Beach Lifetime Achievement Award and most recently the Chief Justice Award for Judicial excellence. Ari is married to Tatyana and they have a 14 year old son named Gabriel and a bernedoodle named Hamilton.