'Raise your hand if you've heard this story before'.

Poor Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, a colorful storyteller, hears that a lot.

"He gets mad when we raise our hands at the dinner table," said daughter Stephanie Labarga. "He made the mistake of telling my sister and me that one of the judges said to raise your hand if you've heard that story before. So he's getting it at lunch and from his own family at the dinner table. They are good stories the first 10 times."

And here it came again, at the Passing of the Gavel Ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court on June 30, when Justice Barbara Pariente told the crowd: "Raise your hand if you've heard the Marco Rubio story," referring to the junior U.S. senator from Florida with presidential aspirations.

"Raise your hand if you've heard the Marco Rubio story two times," Pariente said looking over the crowded courtroom as hands flew up.

"Three times? Enough said."

When it was Labarga's turn to speak, he wadded up a piece of paper, laughed, and said, "So much for telling my Marco Rubio story!"

For those of you who haven't heard the story before, Florida Bar President Greg Coleman says it goes like this:

Soon after Labarga was appointed as a Florida Supreme Court justice, he was in Miami at a luncheon sitting with a group of lawyers, when a woman at the next table came over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I chat with you a moment?" she asked.

"Of course," Labarga answered.

She starts to gush about how proud she is of his accomplishments, and says that she has closely followed his career.

"It went on and on for five minutes," Coleman said. "And Justice Labarga was very gracious and thanks her. But then he overhears her at the next table say to her friends: Tou're not going to believe it! I just met Marco Rubio!'"

Coleman shares this favorite story from Bush v. Gore: One of the first hearings before then 15th Circuit Judge Labarga was held in a large courtroom, where then County Judge Peter Evans presided, because it was wired for closed-circuit television for the overflow media to watch the proceedings.

"Justice Labarga was doing his best to control the chaos surrounding this very important matter. The entire country sat anxiously in front of their televisions sizing up this Palm Beach County circuit court judge, who would likely determine who our next president would be," Coleman said.

"There's a famous picture on the front page of The Palm Beach Post showing Judge Labarga that first day on the bench, sitting next to a banana tree and a prominently...