Meet the Candidate Interview with Alena Chaban

Meet Alena Chaban running for Seminole County Court Judge and learn what she wants you to know about her before the election.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Judy Copier. I am the market president in
Central Florida, and we're here to meet the candidate, Elena Shabon.
She is running for Seminole County Judge Group number six. Welcome,
Thank you. Please introduce yourself to our listeners. Just give
a little bit of breakground of who you are.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, thank you for having me, Judy. My name is
Elina Shabon. I'm running for County Judge Group six. I
am a practicing lawyer, so as soon as I graduated
from law school, I opened up my own law firm.
My husband joined me shortly after, and so we've been
day one in the courtrooms, representing primarily families. I've for

(00:41):
ex primarily family law. Throughout my course of my career.
I've represented over hundreds of families in Seminole County and
Orange County as they deal with litigating as it pertains
two divorces and should custody issues. And I've also volunteered
as a guardian atlitem in Orange County, advocating for children
who don't have a voice.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Thank you for that. What prompted you to run for
this office?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
So it is more of the timing, I believe I
do have a fresh perspective to bring to the bench,
and my experience I think will be beneficial to the
residents that are appearing before the bench, because the thing
about County Court is that they call it that it's
the people's court due to the less serious cases is

(01:26):
what county Court deals with, so traffic offenses, misdemeanor crime,
small claims, landlord tenant. So it's where you end up
when you're not expecting to end up in court, and
it is a largely pro se docket, and obviously, you know,
court can be intimidating for even lawyers to appear in
front of, so you know, when you're dealing with pro
se people, it's a very stressful time for them to

(01:48):
be in court because they don't understand the nuances. And
so really what made me want to run is that
as I've been practicing family law, the significance of what
a judge does is it really does affect people lives,
and in County Court, especially due to the large docket
that they deal with, it really doesn't affect people's lives.
And so I think that with County Court specifically, I

(02:10):
have a fresh perspective. I've got the experience of actually
working with people that are going through this and the
understanding of what a judge does really matters. And so
I think that that perspective I can bring to the
bench and I think that's something that See County needs now.
And so that's kind of really why I'm running for
this position.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
What experience would you say, or skills or qualifications or
something in your past that you feel really prepare you
to serve in this position.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I would lean on my experience working in family law,
because when you're a judge, you don't want to have
a predisposed bias to any kind of case. Everyone deserves
due process, and you know, you really want to make
sure that each case is getting their fair shot in court,
that they're listening to the facts and applying the law
to the facts, and that they're not coming in with

(02:58):
already knowing how they're going to rule. And so with
my practice, I've had to be on both sides of cases.
So specifically, because I've practiced primarily with families, we deal
with unfortunately abuse allegations, and so I've had to be
on both sides of that a once where it was
a father that was accused of it and we were
able to prove that that hadn't happened and was able

(03:21):
to reunite him with his child in that case. But
then the other side of that where the unfortunately the
abuse had occurred, and so we were able to help
prove that and you know, help that child, you know,
stay protected. And so I think that with my practice
that being on both sides has really helped prepare me
for the bench and being able to not be predisposed

(03:43):
to any outcome in being able to give everyone that
equal opportunity of justice.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
What do you feel us the most important issue facing
our community? How would you address it.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
In the court system. I think the biggest issue facing
the communities is a lack of access. I wouldn't say
lack of access, but just the confusion of the courts
for pro se people, especially with the county court, is
that there's they most some people can't afford an attorney
and it's smaller cases and it's a lot to you know,

(04:15):
afford an attorney, and so there's a lot of confusion.
And with the docket it you don't get a court
date right away, so you know there's a backlog. And
I think what contributes a lot to that backlog is
people who are confused about the legal system. Like I've
dealt with pro se litigants in my career and they

(04:36):
file emotion when they should have filed a petition and
so it seems silly, but then we wait three months
to get to court and then it's like, well, you
filed the wrong document and you know, so then it
was just kind of I don't want to say a waste,
but that's essentially what it was. The court doesn't have
jurisdiction to give you any kind of relief because you
filed the wrong thing, and I think that that contributes

(04:59):
to the back because they took a hearing spot that
essentially wasn't proper and nothing was going to be able
to be done. And so I think that the biggest
issue for the community as it pertains to courts is
really just I would like to see expanded resources for
pro se litigants so that way they can navigate the
system a little bit more, because I think that everyone

(05:22):
deserves justice and they deserve their day in court, and
so I think that expanding those resources for pro se
litigants would really be is a huge.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
So, if elected, what would be your top three priorities.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
I would say my top three priorities would be efficient
handling of my docket, because as there is a backlog
with courts. I've seen it a lot. I practiced primarily
in circuit, but there is in county as well. You
wait a long time for your day in court, and
that affects people's lives as they're waiting, you know. And

(05:58):
so I would say that my top three priorities would
be the efficient handling. I would go in and establish
systems to make sure that my doctor is moving in
an appropriate manner. As I've been campaigning, even I've I've
come to realize that there is a big distrust of
the judicial system and the legal system in general from

(06:19):
the public. Some of it is, you know, I believe
we have some great judges, but there is I think
that's an issue, and so I think another priority I
have if I were to be elected, would be to
help restore some of that trust in the judicial system
that people don't feel as if that the judicalist system
is not working for them. I think that that's really important,
and I think good way to do that is ensuring

(06:40):
that people feel heard, that they're getting their day and
they're not feeling like a judge is rubber stamping anything,
and so that would be a huge priority of mine.
And a third priority, especially working in the county court
where you're dealing with like a lot of misdemeanors. I
think one of the big concerns because Seminal County is
a huge family county and so so I know that

(07:01):
in the criminal division that there's concerns about how do
you stop the school to prision pipeline, And I think
that a big part that could help that would be
getting involved further in the community, you know, going and
being involved in school. Sembell County has a Law Day
program where they allow students to come in and learn
more about the law and expose them to those kind

(07:21):
of careers, and so I think that that's a really
big priority, is getting involved in the community and showing
people what the legal system is about. And then also
with kids that they can be reached before before anything happens.
You know, it's sad to see them for the first
time in court. We want to see them before that.
So those would be my top three priorities, I believe.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
So what would you like voters to know about you
that distinguishes you from the other candidates in this race.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
What distinguishes me. I'm the younger candidate in the race.
There's no denying that. But I would say that if
you look at my background. I started lawchool at twenty
one years old. I was I went through law school,
I was on New Court, I was a research assistant.
I was editor in chief of Law Review. I graduated

(08:08):
Magna Kum Lottie, and then immediately after I got licensed,
I passed my bar extand the first time around, I
opened my law firm right outside right after becoming licensed,
and so I've been in the courtroom day one for
my career litigating. I've handled hundreds of cases. I were
in trials. I've handled quite a few trials, their bench trials.

(08:31):
It's actually a good thing in my field if we're
not a trial. But I have handled many trials. I've
done all of that. But I've also been on top
of litigating. It is my own firm, and so I
have also operated as a small business owner. So I
understand the struggles that comes with that. We do have
five employees now that are with us. We just hired

(08:51):
our first associate, and so I do understand the struggles
of a business owner, and I think that that perspective
helps me bring a different perspective to the bench. I'm
also a mom. I've got three children, young children, so
that has taught me a great deal of patience and
balancing and how to handle a lot of things at once.

(09:11):
And so with going into a position like that, that's
kind of the skills that you would need is being
able to balance a huge workload. Because it is in
county court, it's a very large docket, so being able
to handle the work while and doing it well. And
so I think that that's what helps distinguish me from
the other candidates, is the ability to handle all of

(09:34):
that and then not only handling it, but handling it
well and handling it in a way that is in
a patient and what is a temperament that's needed from
the judiciary.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, thank you, it's just been a delight meeting Alina
Shaban and again she is running for Seminole County Judge
and Group number six. We appreciate you coming in today
for meet the candidate.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
I appreciate you having me Judy. Thank you very much.