A justice's priority: full and fair funding for Florida's courts.

• Author: Johnson, Kelly Overstreet
• Position: President's Page

I first met Justice Barbara Pariente in 1997 when she was sworn in to the Florida Supreme Court. As a local lawyer, I have observed her great skills as a jurist, and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know her personally. She is someone I admire very much. This past year has been an extremely difficult one for Justice Pariente and her family. Nevertheless, Justice Pariente has handled her personal challenges in a very dignified yet humble manner, and is stronger as a result of them.

The photograph of her with a sparkling tiara atop her shiny crown, laughing, is a testament of her steadfast strength in her battle with breast cancer. That photo originally appeared in the Palm Beach Post with an article that documented her decision to face cancer publicly by allowing the newspaper to photograph her medical treatments and bald head that resulted from the chemotherapy.

The same courage that has been a hallmark of Chief Justice Pariente's personal life also will carry into her professional one at the state's highest court. Indeed, while undergoing her treatment, Justice Pariente did not miss a single oral argument at the court.

"My first priority is to continue to work together to ensure full and fair funding of the courts so that our citizens have equal access to justice no matter where they live or what they do for a living," she said at her swearing-in ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court.

Although that statement should not be particularly challenging in this country, Revision 7 to Article V of the state's constitution has required our judiciary to confront a potentially disastrous transition as the funding of the courts shifted primarily from the counties to the state this past July.

It will be Chief Justice Pariente's challenge to guide this new budgetary system for the courts through its infancy. Like former Bar President Miles McGrane promised then Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead, I pledge the continuing support of The Florida Bar to Chief Justice Pariente. Together, we can work toward increasing funding for our courts and fulfilling the needs of our state by appointing more judges. I have no doubt that under Chief Justice Pariente's leadership, our courts are in excellent hands.

During this season of change for the court system, several members of the judiciary worked diligently with the legislature to make sure the third branch of government would be well taken care of. On January 12, 1999, then-Chief Justice Major...