FORT LAUDERDALE – The 17th Judicial Circuit is delighted to introduce our newest Magistrate: Hilary A. Creary who officially took the bench today. Magistrate Creary is widely known for her pro bono work with legal aid programs in Broward County.
“I am honored to have been sworn in today as the newest Magistrate in the 17th Judicial Circuit’s Domestic Relations Division,” Magistrate Creary said. “I have been passionate for many years about assisting the children and families of Broward County in my private family law practice, and now I have been given the opportunity to be of service to even more families from the Bench.”
Chief Judge Jack Tuter swore in Magistrate Creary in a courtroom packed with friends, family and well-wishers.
“Hilary has spent a lifetime in the court system and will be a respected hard-working jurist. We are happy to have her deciding cases for the 17th Circuit,” Judge Tuter said.
Magistrate Creary is the Circuit’s second magistrate of Jamaican-American descent. Magistrate Stephanie Matalon, also a Jamaican-American, took the bench in January 2020. Magistrates are widely utilized in Florida’s trial courts to assist the judiciary in the effective and timely disposition of cases.
Magistrate Creary is a founding member of the Jamaican Women of Florida, and serves on the boards of the Caribbean Bar Association, the T.J. Reddick Bar Association, the Gwen S. Cherry Bar Association, the Broward County Women Lawyers Association and the Bernice Gaines Dorn Black Women Lawyers Association as well as the Florida Bar Board of Governors and the Board of the Broward County Bar Association.
