Debra Nelson.
SOURCE:
http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Debra_Steinberg_Nelson
Debra Steinberg Nelson is a Seminole County judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida. She was appointed by then-Governor Jeb Bush in May of 1999 (effective in June). Her current term expires in January of 2019.
Nelson began her career in 1980 at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. She served as the Chief Prosecutor of that office prior to leaving it in July of 1983 for the state Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She served there as staff counsel until March of 1986, when she joined the law firm of Borroughs, Grimm, Bennett & Griffin, P.A. She became a partner of the firm in 1988 and became head of the litigation department the following year. In August of 1992, she started her own practice, Debra Steinberg Nelson, P.A. She worked in that capacity until she became a Circuit Court judge in June of 1999. She was also an arbitrator for the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida from 1992 to 1999.
Judge Nelson was assigned to the trial of George Zimmerman in August of 2012, after Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr. was removed at the request of the defense. Zimmerman is charged with shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a case that has gained national attention.