Ari Porth

Ari Abraham Porth (born September 25, 1970, Washington, D.C.) is an American attorney, jurist, and politician. From 2004 to 2012, he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. Porth currently serves as a Circuit Court Judge in Broward County, Florida.

Personal life After attending public schools in both Florida and Michigan, Porth graduated from Northeastern University and went to work for Senator Bob Graham as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C. While working for the Senator, he focused on issues related to veterans, substance use and AIDS.

Porth moved back home to South Florida where he received his J.D. degree from Nova Southeastern University

He served on the Policy Council, the Health Services Policy Council, the Health Regulations Committee, the Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee, the Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Select Committee on Florida's Strategic and Economic Future. Porth also chaired the Legislature's Early Childhood Caucus and the Broward Legislative Delegation.

Two of the most significant bills Porth sponsored and passed in the House include SB 2142 Protecting Florida's Investments Act of 2007 and SB 2654 the Window of Opportunity Act of 2008. The first divested Florida's pension plan investments from any dealings with Iran or Sudan and served as landmark legislation nationally. The second required certain insurance companies to provide behavioral therapies for children on the Autism spectrum. During the 2011 session, Porth worked on prison sentencing reform for nonviolent offenders (HB 917) and passed a bill authorizing Florida's first public boarding school for at risk youth and creating services for juveniles who have gone through the delinquency system (SB 404).