Melissa Gould
Available reports...
  • M3 4/10/2020
  • M4 5/11/2020
  • M5 6/10/2020
  • M5 6/10/2020
  • P1 6/19/2020
  • P2 7/3/2020
  • P3 7/17/2020
  • P4 7/24/2020
  • P5 7/31/2020
  • P6 8/7/2020
  • P7 8/14/2020
  • P7 8/14/2020
  • P7 8/14/2020
  • G1 8/28/2020
  • G1 8/28/2020
  • G2 9/11/2020
  • G3 9/25/2020
  • G3 9/25/2020
  • G4 10/9/2020
  • G5 10/23/2020
  • G6 10/30/2020
  • TR 2/1/2021

Contact Information

Address
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Phone
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Candidate's Statement

As the whole world’s attention is focused on health, economic and other issues related to COVID-19, I think it’s also very important that we begin preparing for when society gets back to normal, or at least what I imagine will be a new normal.

When our courts are fully functioning again we’ll need them to be more efficient and effective than ever before.  We’ll need people on the bench who are strategic thinkers, innovative problem solvers and committed to enhancing our judicial system and all other aspects of our community. I believe my life experiences, education and legal career have all served to make me an ideal candidate to serve as Manatee County Court Judge, Group 4.

I was born in Los Angeles and my family moved to North Bay, a relatively small Canadian city in Ontario.  I was extremely fortunate to have a wonderful childhood, but as the only Jewish student in my elementary, middle and high schools, I periodically had to deal with vicious anti-Semitic slurs but those unfortunate experiences helped me gain a strong understanding of the critically important concepts of respect, equality and tolerance.

Those enduring values, along with the key principles of honesty, integrity and authenticity helped shape my approach to life and I worked aggressively as a teenager to promote volunteerism and fairness in my community. I was recognized for these efforts by becoming a recipient of the Harmony Movement Award and was one of 10 Canadian national honorees for leadership in addressing prejudice and discrimination.  I was also one of six Canadian women (of all ages) to be honored nationwide for volunteerism by Flare Magazine.  In addition, I received one of Canada’s most prestigious university scholarships, TD Canada Trust’s Award of Merit for outstanding community leadership.

After completing my baccalaureate degree at the University of Western Ontario (2001-2004) where I graduated with distinction on the Dean’s Honor List, I attended the City University of New York School of Law (2004-2007).  That institution is considered the premier public interest law school in the country.  While there, I served as a judicial intern for a New York Supreme Court Judge and that experience solidified my desire to one day sit on the bench.  I continued strengthening and expanding my knowledge of criminal law by graduating with Honors with a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK (2008).

After returning to the United States, I met and married my husband, Ryan Jawitz.  We moved to Michigan for three years (2009-2012) where Ryan completed a residency in dermatology.  While there, I worked on consumer protection cases and I had the opportunity to teach Family Law, Constitutional Law and Judicial Process at Oakland University.  I did pro bono work at the  University of Michigan Law School’s Innocence Clinic. 

Ryan grew up in Manatee County and we returned here in 2012.  I was fortunate to immediately get a job at the Office of the State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit.  In that position for the past eight years I prosecuted a very broad spectrum of misdemeanor and felony crimes with an extremely high rate of convictions.  I currently specialize in white collar crimes prosecuting individuals who harm our elderly citizens as well as animals, two of our community’s most vulnerable populations.  In an effort to reduce these types of crimes I regularly conduct community outreach and educational initiatives for officials who are involved in identifying and investigating such cases.  I’ve also actively participated in prosecuting complex cross-jurisdictional state cases handled by the Office of Statewide Prosecution. 

I’m a wife, a mother of two young children and someone who is exceptionally passionate about the well-being of our extraordinary community.  I’m also a hard-working and very skilled attorney with a great deal of significant and successful trial experience.  Furthermore, I’m firm, fair and very confident in my ability to manage the myriad challenges of serving on the bench.  I’m more than ready and incredibly eager to hit the ground running as the next Manatee County Court Judge for Group 4 and it would be a tremendous honor for me to serve our community in this capacity.


Note: The candidate's photograph and statement are supplied by the candidate and are not endorsed by the County Supervisor of Elections or checked for accuracy.
The following financial reports are available:
Report
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Monetary Contributions In-Kind Contributions Expenditures and Distributions
$104,000.00
$0.00
$2,022.30
$2,270.20
$569.99
$7,929.22
$2,058.00
$2,874.43
$18,611.82
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$-2,000.00
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$500.00
$4,937.10
$7,683.35
$200.00
$576.28
$5,442.66
$824.40
$96.79
$30,811.75
$30,200.00
$470.00
$20.60
$4,100.00
$128.40
$4,879.95
$120.20
$90.59
$20,848.50
$180.00
$0.00
$31,727.35
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$-82.10
$608.00
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$2,063.59
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$8,480.00
$2,092.89
$14,360.45
$37,850.00
$5,873.56
$12,874.90
$0.00
$-213.00
$0.00
$350.00
$530.00
$24,345.23
$31,200.00
$2,205.59
$13,067.99
$44,510.00
$1,554.76
$46,518.75
$0.00
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$24,324.49
Candidate qualifying forms and miscellaneous documents