College of Law Student Ambassadors 2019I am working at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. The Division regulates casinos, slot machine operations, card rooms, horse racing, and greyhound racing. We’re also important flies on the wall for the compact the State of Florida has with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

This summer, I have been able to follow multiple cases dealing with the casino and horse racing industry at the Division of Administrative Hearings. I even had the opportunity to sit at the counsel table in the front of the court while the Division’s case was presented and witness testimony was heard.

Once a month the Division holds informal hearings. Cases the Division has filed against licensees or pari-mutuel wagering patrons that have no material issues of disputed fact will be set for informal hearings if the respondent elects for one. During these hearings, I have the opportunity to represent the Division as the Division prosecutor. I handle the informal hearings and file a proposed recommended order to the hearing officer with my own recommendations for how the case should be finalized.

On a normal day I receive a handful of legal research topics from different attorneys for different cases. I occasionally sit in on conversations with the Director of the Division as the attorneys explain their viewpoints on certain issues and how we should move forward. I also draft administrative complaints, consent orders, license denials, and a variety of motions needed in cases.

Working here for the summer has given me further insight into administrative law. It has also provided me with litigation experience – both as a prosecutor in informal hearings and in drafting various litigation-related motions. It also keeps me practicing my legal research and my analytical skills as I search various issues with difficult answers.

Christina Roberts, 3L

 

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