Appointed in 1997, Lerner-Wren became the first judge of the United States' inaugural Mental Health Court, established in Broward County, Florida.

[9] She worked with the Florida Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, where she was appointed to oversee the implementation of a consent decree as a monitor on behalf of plaintiffs in a class action affecting treatment conditions and the adequacy of community-based care for discharges at South Florida State Hospital.

[15] Within months of taking the bench, in what has been recognized as a historic administrative order on June 1997, Lerner-Wren was appointed by Chief Judge Dale Ross to administer and preside over the Nation's first mental health court.

[9] The Broward County Mental Health Court, dedicated to the safe diversion and treatment of the mentally ill, has been featured on Good Morning America, National Public Radio, and CNN, and covered by news media reports and articles nationally and internationally.

In December 2013, The HiiL Foundation (The Hague, Netherlands) selected Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren and Broward's Mental Health Court 'Top Finalist' - 2013 Innovating Justice Awards.

[22] In March 2018, Lerner-Wren published a book titled A Court of Refuge that tells the story of how the court grew from an offshoot of her criminal division held during lunch hour without the aid of any federal funding, to a revolutionary institution that has successfully diverted more than 20,000 people with serious mental illness from jail and into treatment facilities and other community resources.