Circuit Judge Gary Sweet (left) swears in Darren Steele on Friday.

The crowd that spilled out onto the second-floor stairwell at the Martin County Courthouse last week made the ceremony about to begin inside the courtroom appear more like a rock concert than the installation of a new judge.

But as the people waited - some only to be guided to an equally packed overflow room on the third floor - Darren Steele’s family members, friends and supporters called the turnout fitting for the former defense attorney who worked himself through the public defender’s office and private practice before becoming one of the Treasure Coast’s youngest judges.

(more…)