It has been an honor and a privilege.

AuthorWhite, John G., III
PositionFlorida - President's page

As I write this, my last President's Page, and see my term as your Bar president coming to an end, words cannot begin to express what a huge honor and privilege it has been to serve as your president this year. The actual experience has surpassed in every way my thoughts of what it would be like. It is, without question, the highlight of my legal career.

By the time my presidency has concluded, I will have travelled throughout the state of Florida from Pensacola to Key West and most cities in between, and to out-of-state locations in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Boston. During these travels I have spoken to judges, lawyers, law students, nonlawyers, Rotary members, editorial boards, and many, many others. I can tell you unequivocally that both lawyers and nonlawyers believe in and support the rule of law, our legal profession, democracy, the beliefs that all are created equal in our country, and that we need a strong and independent judiciary.

We had the challenge this year of significant reductions in the state's budget that have affected our judiciary and the ability of the courts to function effectively as the third, separate, and independent branch of government. Fortunately, we were able to make some positive forward strides to obtain some funding sources for the courts. While this success is a wonderful first step in the right direction, we need to remain vigilant and moving forward for additional permanent funding sources to ensure that 100 percent of the judiciary's operational needs are met. These successes could never have been accomplished without the hard work of many judges, lawyers, legislators, and others throughout the state. A special thanks to Chief Justice Peggy Quince, Florida Bar Lobbyist Steve Metz, Representative Ellen Bogdanoff, and Senator Ken Pruitt for their hard work and dedication to this issue. This never could have been accomplished without them.

We were all sad to see four wonderful Florida Supreme Court justices leave the bench: Justice Wells and Justice Anstead through retirement and Justice Bell and Justice Cantero to spend more time with their families. We will miss these four justices very much and I wish all of them the best of luck in the future. In their place we had four new justices join our Supreme Court: Justice Canaday, Justice Polstan, Justice LaBarga, and Justice Perry. We know these new justices are well qualified, dedicated, and hard working and will do a wonderful job. I look forward to...

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