I started at the Sarasota Public Defender’s Office on December 28, 1984. I had just turned 23 on December 7, than graduated from F.SU. Law on December 18. Due to my previous experience as a certified legal intern, there was already a crowd of clients waiting for me when I walked in the door, I walked over to Court with them trailing behind me, and found Judge Becky Titus on the bench. “Go easy on me Judge,” I said, “it’s my first day.” “Well it’s my first day too,” she replied, “let’s get to work.”
Back then we occupied a one story building right on Main Street and still practiced in what is now known as the historic courthouse. I had an office right off the reception area with a big glass window that allowed me to see the comings and goings of everyone on the street. Later that first week, a client vomited on my desk, and then passed out on the floor, and I never did quite get the odor out of there. I slept in my AMC Pacer the first two nights until Cyndi Berry found out and insisted that I stay with her until I found a place of my own.
That place turned out to be Halton Court, just one block north of the office, which was good because the Pacer soon stopped running. I could walk home for lunch, and soon my apartment became the unofficial after work stopover. Jon Weifenbach, Katie Kirwin and my future wife to be, Regina, would drink Busch beer because it was permanently on sale for $1.99 a six-pack. On May 22, 1985, during a long day in Court, I went back to the apartment during a break to find my notice from the Florida Bar that I could be sworn in as an attorney. I raced back to Court and had Judge Titus do the honors before we moved on to the next case.
We had one more move at the office before finally relocating to our new building. Weiffenbach and I had to share an office that had apparently been a restroom in a previous incarnation and still had plumbing fixtures coming out of the walls. Regina was in a back closet that was truly only big enough for two people at a time to enter. Either Jon or I would have to leave when the other had a client appointment, and Regina would kick us both out when she needed to do depositions. But our physical closeness built a strong sense of camaraderie and dedication to the cause.
In 1988, we moved onto the 5th floor of the Criminal Justice building on Ringling, where we remain to this day. My office had a panoramic view of north Sarasota, and from the other side of the building we could see a portion of the field at Payne Park where the Chicago White Sox were still playing. I remember the hallways and offices being thick with cigarette smoke, my friend David Blount would sometimes have two or three Marlboro 100s going at once. When the County announced that nobody was allowed to smoke in the building I thought Blount was going to quit.
This week I started sorting 20 years worth of case law, newspaper clippings and old photographs in preparation for my departure in early March. Memories of old clients, trials, and co-counsels have been overwhelming me all week. Fortunately I have been staying busy, giving talks to the Sunrise Rotary Club and the downtown Kiwanis on Friday. Maybe this week you will come here me speak about the death penalty on Wednesday night at the Sarasota Friends Meetinghouse, or I’ll see you at the U.S.F. campaign school on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment