As one of my first experiences in my legal career , I was grilled by a groundbreaking and sometimes controversial Florida jurist . All I knew , however , was there was a person aggressively questioning me if I had ever heard of or read Batson v . Kentucky . Then she asked if anyone at the Staff Attorneys ’ Office had heard of Batson . We had , of course — it was a landmark Supreme Court case involving race discrimination and peremptory challenges in criminal jury trials . The person on the other end of the line : Judge Rosemary Barkett , the first woman justice on the Florida Supreme Court and first woman Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court . At the time she was grilling me on Batson , she was a judge on the U . S . Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit . She now is a judge on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague .
I don ’ t recall the specific case or issue about which she was calling . I do recall not enjoying the phone call much . I had written a memorandum on a case involving a Batson issue ; Judge Barkett thought I failed to analyze the issue thoroughly . I ’ d like to say that I was right and she was wrong , but that was not the case ( of course ). But I also was not technically wrong on the Batson issue . Where I was wrong was failing to review the jurisprudence of the panel members . Judge Barkett believed strongly that some of her colleagues had misapplied Batson . Therefore , even if I was technically correct about the issue , she rightly chided
SOUTH COUNTY DIVISION
Have you ever heard of Batson ?
President Anthony Mowry
President-Elect Patrick Reilly
Treasurer Erin Itts
Secretary AJ Stickley
Immediate Past President Bryan Kessler
SOUTH COUNTY PRESIDENT ’ S COLUMN
Anthony G . Mowry , Esq . Mowry Law Office
Judge Rosemary Barkett was the first woman justice on the Florida Supreme Court and first woman Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court .
SCD Board of Directors 2020 – 2021
me for giving short shrift to an issue that was of great importance to her , my audience .
Born in Mexico to Syrian parents , Judge Barkett ’ s family moved to Miami when she was 6 years old in 1945 . After high school , she became a nun for eight years . She left the order and , ultimately , graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1970 . After working in private practice she was appointed to the state circuit court , then state appeals court , and , in 1985 to the Florida Supreme Court where she made history . In 1993 President Clinton nominated her to a seat on the U . S . Court of Appeals . I don ’ t know if Judge Barkett ever won her battle over the Batson issue . I am certain , however , that she never stopped fighting for what she believed was right and just . There are many who disagree with her jurisprudence , but her place in Florida deserves honor and recognition . Therefore , in honor of Women ’ s History Month , I honor the first woman justice of the Florida Supreme Court , Rosemary Barkett . I never shorted the analysis of a Batson issue again .
DIRECTORS Lance Ball Dawn Marie Bates-Buchanan Mark Creech Jacqulyn Mack-Majka Kayla Tipple
LEGAL AID
FACE : Florida Attorneys Counseling on Evictions
Legal Aid of Manasota
Imagine a family with 3 children .
Mom stays home with the kids and Dad has steady employment providing a modest , but comfortable , life . Everything changes in an instant when COVID-19 strikes . Dad loses his job . He is no longer able to provide food for the family or pay the rent to keep a roof over their heads . Fortunately , Dad finds a new job after a few months . He is one of the lucky ones . They can now feed their family and pay the rent going forward , but they are unable to come up with enough money to cover the back rent and are at risk of losing their home .
Legal Aid of Manasota doesn ’ t have to imagine this family because it is just one of many who have sought legal assistance through our agency during the pandemic . This story has a happy ending because a pro bono attorney was willing to help .
The attorney helped the family access rental assistance through a local social service agency and was able to provide the landlord with a lump sum payment towards the back rent . Although the amount wasn ’ t enough to cover everything due , the attorney was able to negotiate with the landlord for a payment plan allowing the family to pay a little extra each month until they could get back on their feet .
Legal Aid of Manasota has experienced over a 100 % increase in clients seeking assistance with eviction and we only expect this number to grow over the next few months . The community is facing a looming crisis and the result will be homeless children and families .
In response to the growing number of evictions in 2020 , the Florida Bar Real Property , Probate and Trust Law Section , in partnership with The Florida Bar Foundation and legal aid organizations ,
See FACE , Page 17
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