by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When Circuit Court Judge Brian Davis was growing up in Jacksonville he was surrounded by loving parents and relatives and a host of other caring adults. That childhood experience, perhaps more than anything else, explains why he has spent the last three years overseeing the juvenile division at the county courthouse. And, that’s why he is lobbying for at least one more year in that capacity.
Davis graduated from Stanton High School in 1970 before going to Princeton University in New Jersey. In 1980, Davis finished law school at the University of Florida and returned to Jacksonville, entering private practice with the now defunct firm of Mahoney, Hadlow & Adams, where he spent two years.
After a five-year stint as an assistant state attorney, Davis returned to the private sector, this time with Brown, Terrell, Hogan. Two years later he returned to the State Attorney’s Office, this time as the chief assistant under Harry Shorstein. In February 1994, Davis was appointed to the bench by Gov. Lawton Chiles.
During his seven years on the bench, Davis has presided over three divisions: two in family law, two in the civil division and three and counting in the juvenile division.
On a daily basis, Davis must deal with children who have run afoul of the law. Some are first-time offenders who got caught for petty theft or other minor crimes. For most of them, simply having to appear in court in front of a judge is enough to scare them straight. For others, though, that initial meeting with Davis is the first of many.
While Davis remembers very few of his one-time guests, the repeat offenders often become friends, projects and, unfortunately, sometimes failures. Becoming a judge has allowed Davis to combine 11 years worth of legal experience with a lifetime of wisdom imparted to him by caring adults. Every day he attempts to make an impression on troubled youths who are at impressionable times of their lives.
“I became a judge because as a lawyer I saw that it was a way to serve both the legal and the civic community and continue to be intimately involved with the law,” said Davis.
Working his way to juvenile court seems to have been a perfect fit for Davis, the system and the youngsters. He relates well to the children, the system gets a caring judge who enjoys his work and those appearing before him get someone who serves as parent, mentor, disciplinarian and counselor — all rolled into one.
“I have always enjoyed working with children,” said Davis. “I do have children, but even before I had children, I enjoyed them. Sometimes I wonder what that is attributable to. I think it’s because I had adults that spent time with me and they enjoyed it. I know I benefited from it. Because of that, I’m comfortable with it [the juvenile division].”
While the job comes with rewards — one-time offenders who never return and the long term projects who eventually see the light — it also comes with disappointments. Months, even years of hard work and cajoling, can prove fruitless and even backfire. Davis doesn’t take the failures personally, but they do cause him to lose sleep.
“It can be very depressing,” said Davis. “Most of the children I see are children that are misguided and have been neglected. That can be depressing. On the other hand, they can be the most rewarding.”
One of the reasons Davis actually prefers working with on-the-edge kids as opposed to adults with lengthy rap sheets is because he feels there still time to save the kids.
“Adults, more often than not, are too far gone,” said Davis. “Children are salvageable.”
Because of the nature of his job and the many uncontrollable factors associated with it, Davis doesn’t always go home with a smile on his face. However, because he and his staff do everything possible to turn young lives around, Davis says a majority of his days end on a happy note.
“I’m glad to say that the ratio of happy to unhappy days is about 70-30,” said Davis, adding that the 30 percent he describes really gets to him. “My frustration with the 30 percent of children who are repeat offenders is that the intensity of the frustration is significant.”
Admittedly, much of Davis’ frustration stems from the kids’ indifference to authority and guidance. The rest of his frustration is aimed at what he perceives as a system that is letting the offenders down, making his job that much more difficult.
“It’s because of a belief that I have that the systems to serve children haven’t served them well,” said Davis. “One of those systems is the family unit.”
Davis contends that many of the those who appear before him would never see the inside of a courtroom if their home life was a little better. Yes, many come from broken and underprivileged homes. At the same time, many parents simply don’t care these days and rely on the courts and its myriad programs to straighten their children out.
Other factors contribute to the problem, according to Davis.
“The educational system is failing to prepare too many of our children,” said Davis, adding that several taxpayer-backed state agencies are falling short on their commitment to children all over the state, not just in Duval County. “They aren’t as efficient or as effective as they should be.”
Despite what at times appears to be a gut-wrenching job, Davis loves it. In fact, his three years in the juvenile division is a year longer that originally intended. And, he wants more.
“I have asked to remain another year in juvenile, but I have not decided if I’m going to remain after that,” he said. “It’s important not to stay in any division forever. There’s a burn out factor. You need a new perspective, but you have to balance that with the desire to serve. You have balance the need for a fresh perspective with the need for experience.
“I have seen children literally grow up in the juvenile justice system.”
If there is one aspect of his job he would change, Davis would eliminate the helplessness factor. Many of the juveniles who appear before him have made conscious decisions to do the wrong thing. They choose to steal, skip school, smoke pot, break into homes. Then there are those who have had bad decisions made for them, often long before birth.
“It is heartbreaking,” said Davis. “The most heartbreaking part of my job involves the child in front of the delinquency courts because of things entirely out of their control. The most salient of those are the crack babies and children who are genuinely suffering from mental illness.”
After three years in juvenile court, Davis is hard pressed to relate a specific success story. To Davis, the true success is the inception of the drug court program and how it has positively impacted so many children and their parents.
“There isn’t a single success story, but a series of success stories in drug court,” said Davis. “It’s a unique venture by the courts into the substance abuse treatment arena. It permits a judge a treatment team. As a consequence it causes the judge to get to know the people that appear in front of them in ways you otherwise would not. I develop a rapport with the kids. Because of that rapport, the successes are heartfelt. By the same token, the failures are heartbreaking.
“You get to know not only the child, but the family and the reasons for the child’s problems.”
Davis spends a great deal of his spare time with children, teaching them many of the values, lessons and basic survival skills he learned as a child. And, he does it in his Boy Scout uniform.
“I am a Boy Scout,” he said, proudly. “Men gave their time to that organization when I was a child. I learned many things when I was a scout, not the least of which was values.”
Often, when events in the courtroom make him want to rant, rave and scream, Davis thinks of the Boy Scout Oath (it speaks of honor, morality, strength and the need to help others) to get him through strenuous times.
“If you continue to refer to that [the Oath], you will make good decisions,” said Davis, who also works diligently to bring the Boy Scouts to those who otherwise wouldn’t be exposed. “I want to bring the Boy Scouts to as many as possible that can’t afford it.”
Davis has helped established a program to get urban boys and girls involved in scouting, with one of the program’s main goals being to help financially. Figuring the cost for uniforms, camps and transportation, Davis said it costs about $500 a year for a child to be a scout.
In addition, Davis is also finding time to take part in the current JCCI study on race relations in Jacksonville.
“I’m the co-chair with Bruce Barcelo. I think it’s important,” said Davis. “As a community, one of the things we have failed to teach is tolerance. That needs to begin, given its history, between the black and white community. If we teach tolerance and make that a mainstay of our community, we’ll be better off in the long run.”