Celebrating Black History Month at Historic Lyric Theatre with H.T. Smith (Feb. 12, 2025)
Kevin Hellmann was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis as a County Court Judge in July 2024. Being a judge is a dream come true for Kevin, who has spent his 30-year legal career dedicated to serving the community. After graduating law school in 1995, Judge Hellmann began his legal career of public service in New York and then moved to Miami in 1996 to continue his dedication to improving the criminal justice system as an Assistant Public Defender. Aside from his commitment to justice, Judge Hellmann also fell in love with the woman of his dreams at the Miami-Dade Public Defender Office when he met Margot Moss on Day One. Margot and Kevin have been very happily married now for twenty-two years.
Born and bred in the Bronx, New York, Judge Hellmann attended Cardinal Spellman High School where he excelled in the classroom and student government and on the athletic field as team captain in football and baseball. He went on to attend Harvard University for his bachelor’s degree where he also played football and baseball. After graduating Brooklyn Law School, Judge Hellmann spent the summer learning Spanish by attending school and living with a local family in Guatemala. Once he started his legal career in Miami, Judge Hellmann continued his legal education by earning the distinction of Board Specialist in Criminal Trial Law – an honor he earned from The Florida Bar since 2016. His years of study and continued legal education have made him the knowledgeable judge he is today.
Though he was bred in the Bronx as a boy, Judge Hellmann was made in Miami-Dade as a lawyer. In his pursuit of fairness, Judge Hellmann spent over twenty-eight years representing people in Miami’s community who could not afford to hire private counsel. In keeping with his passion for justice, Judge Hellmann tried over 300 cases in criminal court since 1996. His extensive trial experience has given him the expertise needed to be an exceptional trial judge. Judge Hellmann’s commitment to his clients rubbed off on his colleagues and he quickly earned a reputation as a lawyer who fights hard for his clients but fights fair.
Celebrating Black History Month at Historic Lyric Theatre with H.T. Smith (Feb. 12, 2025)
Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Jan. 20, 2025)
Speaking on a panel for the Caribbean Bar Association (Jan. 21, 2025)
Officiating wedding of Kevin's former law student at Caleb Center (Jan. 10, 2025)
Presiding over Bond Hearings in Criminal Court (Jan. 1, 2025)
Frankie joins Kevin on a road trip to Durham, N.C. (Dec. 28, 2024)
Kevin and wife Margot take a break from holiday hiking (Dec. 24, 2024)
Attending Red Mass of the Holy Spirit at Gesu Catholic Church (Dec. 11, 2024)
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Judge Hellmann’s commitment to improving the justice system sparked his interest in training younger lawyers and teaching law students to enhance their practice of law in Miami. As Director of Training, Professionalism, and Leadership Development for nearly half of his twenty-eight-year career at the Miami-Dade Public Defender Office, Judge Hellmann helped hundreds of young defense lawyers to advance their trial skills. And since 2012, he has taught litigation skills to local law students as an adjunct professor at University of Miami Law School and Florida International University College of Law. Throughout his legal career, Judge Hellmann has lectured on various legal topics to lawyers, law students, police cadets, and members of the community at large. Judge Hellmann even spread his experience internationally in 2022 and 2024, when the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement deployed him to train defense lawyers in trial skills over in the eastern European country of Georgia.
Judge Hellmann has devoted hundreds of hours to improving the lives of others outside his work in the courtroom. As a graduate of Harvard University, he volunteers with the Harvard Alumni Association to interview Miami high school students who are applying for admission to Harvard. Also, he and his wife Margot founded a non-profit organization called Gideon’s Hope in 2016 to raise scholarships to help dedicated public defense lawyers continue their public interest work. And he has volunteered with The Florida Bar as a member of the Grievance Committee and the Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee to help keep lawyers energized and committed to helping their clients. Judge Hellmann’s tireless efforts to help others and to improve the criminal justice system were celebrated when he was voted by judges, prosecutors, and defenders to receive the Miami Dade Bar’s Criminal Justice Award in 2023 for his outstanding contribution to improving the criminal justice system.
As County Court Judge, Kevin Hellmann provides each member of the community with a fair opportunity to have their case heard. He constantly reads up on the law, diligently prepares each day by reading through the cases before him, and listens intently to each side before making a decision that is reasoned, fair, and just. He is honored to serve the community through the legal system by giving everyone a fair shake. Judge Hellmann will continue to devote his experience, knowledge, and commitment to giving the people of Miami-Dade a court system that serves them better.
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