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Fame & Fortune: TV's Judge Alex Ferrer
Education is the
key to financial security | | |
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Bankrate: How much more
lucrative is doing this TV show than a judgeship would have been?
Judge Alex Ferrer: It's
a lot more lucrative. I can't give specific figures because my contract
has a confidentiality clause, but it's a lot more money than I'd
make as a state court judge. Of course, as a judge, you have job
security. Elections come up once every six years, but for those
six years you have security, and when those six years come up, if
you're a good judge, you generally don't get challenged. But, for
the most part, if you're doing a good job, you're going to get the
support you need to win and TV is a very fickle industry.
Bankrate: Has the difference in the
pay been life-changing?
Judge Alex Ferrer: Yes,
but it's not life-changing for me, because I'm not the type of person
who makes more money and then says, "See you, I'm going to
go out and buy a bigger house." It's nice to be comfortable,
it's nice to not have to worry about financial issues, but I know
this industry is fickle. I tend to save more than I spend or use
it in ways that will have lasting value.
Bankrate:
Such as?
Judge Alex Ferrer: I was
looking to upgrade my house for a while, and this gave me an opportunity
to do some expansion, which is great, because a portion of that
will stay in the value of the home. I wouldn't move, because I love
my neighborhood. We have the type of neighborhood you probably don't
see any more in America, which is a shame. Our neighbors socialize
together. I live on a cul-de-sac, and we'll have parties on the
cul-de-sac. The neighbors all bring something and we put music out
there. When hurricanes are approaching Miami, we go door to door
and help everybody who needs help boarding up. And afterward, we
go door to door and help everyone clean up their debris. You move
from there, and you end up in a neighborhood where nobody knows
who lives next door to them and nobody cares. So we don't really
want to move.
Bankrate: Since the show's
first year was a hit, did you get a major increase in money for the second?
Judge Alex Ferrer: My
contract provided for annual increases. In TV you have a multiyear
contract, but the option to renew usually belongs with the network,
because they don't know if other stations in syndication are going
to pick it up. So every year they make the decision.
Bankrate:
You teach criminal law and other legal topics, but you also teach media relations.
How important is that for legal professionals these days?
Judge Alex Ferrer: Media
relations I teach to judges, at judicial conferences. We have about
400-some circuit judges and another 300 county judges who go to
conferences, and I've been teaching them for about nine years now.
I've written a bench book on closing arguments that judges use all
over Florida, and I teach that most of the time. But I also teach
media relations, which is basically teaching judges how to deal
with high-profile cases, what they can and can't do, as far as excluding
the media. Being a judge is a very powerful position and it can
go to your head, and sometimes judges think they can do whatever
they want. So it's good to have some instruction on the First Amendment,
and that fact that the media has open access to our courts. I deal
with sealing records, closing the courtroom, giving gag orders,
things like that.
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