TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT GETS IT'S FIRST BLACK JUDGE

Another racial barrier was broken Thursday in Bartow as Karla Foreman Wright was sworn in as the first black judge in the Tenth Judicial Circuit, which covers Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties.

Her investiture ceremony was held in the Polk County Courthouse's main courtroom, with the oath of office administered by Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy A. Quince.

Judge Wright was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to fill a newly created judicial seat for the Tenth Circuit by last year's Legislature. She had previously been appointed by Bush as a county judge in 2000, being reelected two years later. Before taking the bench, Wright has worked as an assistant County Attorney in both Polk and Hillsborough counties, an assistant public defender, and as a senior attorney with the Florida Department of Transportation.

She has been assigned to the Felony Division.