- November 17, 2024
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Flagler County’s courthouse has a new circuit judge: Michael Orfinger, who is replacing replace Dennis Craig.
Orfinger, a Daytona Beach resident who comes from a family of judges — his father Melvin was a judge, as is his brother Richard — has spent the past 12 years as a court-appointed mediator with Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group.
His first official day as a Circuit 7 judge appointed to Flagler County was Tuesday, Jan. 6, and his first day in court will be Monday, Jan. 12.
“I think what I can bring to the bench is a solid knowledge of the law and the temperament that is required to treat people with civility and the respect they deserve when they come to court,” Orfinger said.
“One of the things I like about being assigned to Flagler County is that back in 1978, my father was appointed to be the circuit judge in Flagler County,” he said. “So as a result, I’m starting my career as a judge where he started his career as a judge.”
Orfinger, who said he has practiced law for the past 25 years, even found his father’s portrait in a seldom-used courtroom in the courthouse. “So I’m having it moved down to my courtroom, where either he can keep an eye on me or I can keep an eye on him,” he said.
John Upchurch, a partner at Upchurch Watson White & Max, said Orfinger was “extremely analytical” and a go-to man for the ethical questions that arose at the firm.
“We used to call him ‘the conscience of the firm,’” Upchurch said. “He would be our resource person to resolve professional ethics questions that would come up from time to time. So we will certainly be missing his laugh, his friendly advice and wise council.”
One of Orfinger’s duties at the mediation firm, Upchurch said, was to handle its trust account. “He inspires such confidence to always do the right thing that none of us ever lost any sleep,” Upchurch said. “He would make sure that everything balanced down to the penny, and was correctly entered and all of those details.”
Flagler County Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth said she’d known Orfinger’s father and brother since she was a little girl, and knew of Michael Orfinger’s past as a mediator. “I know he did that well. … I think he’ll have a positive impact,” she said. “I think he will benefit from history, from being aware that he’s following his father into Flagler County. He’s following his older brother also onto the bench, so he is aware of what a jurist’s role is.”
With such a family background, Orfinger said, “I think people say, hopefully jokingly, that it must run in the blood. And I don’t think that’s true. But what I do think is true is that the work ethic is something that’s common to all of us, and the desire to be the best and fairest judge we can possibly be. I think those things are common to all of us.”
