Buchanan, Laurie E.

The Honorable Laurie E. Buchanan is a judge for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Okeechobee County, Florida.  She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2014.  Judge Buchanan graduated with her BA in psychology and Spanish from Indiana University in 1990.  She went on to earn a JD from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 1995.  While pursuing her bachelors degree, she also studied abroad at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico.  At the time of her election, she served as a hearing officer for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit for eight years.  Buchanan was also a private practice attorney.  in 1997, she began a tenure as a full-time Guardian ad Litem for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit.  While on the Circuit Court, Judge Buchanan has held assignments in the Appellate, Civil, Family, Juvenile, and Probate and Guardianship Divisions.  in 2003, she was named the Guardian ad Litem Legal Volunteer of the Year.