by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
“Liberty and Justice for All — The Role of the U.S. Courts” officially debuted at the Bryan Simpson Federal Courthouse Friday.
The multi-year project organized by the Historical Committee of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida was created to educate the public on the role of the court and recognize people who have made contributions to society through the court system.
“We have created a template for what we hope to be many more openings,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen Jennemann. “The exhibit is a tool for educating the public on the role of the federal courts and what federal judges and attorneys do.”
A series of desk-like displays designed by the Hughes Bowman Design Group detail the history of the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida and some of its more notable cases. Some of the people involved in the cases displayed in the courthouse attended the official opening of the exhibit which features displays in the lobby and fifth floor.
“It’s strange,” said Lydia Blakey, who was a U.S. Marshal in Jacksonville during the trial of drug czar Carlos Lehder Rivas, which was in court through most of the 1980s. “The U.S. Marshals used that same picture on a poster, so they call me a poster child now.”
The description of the case reveals how security was heightened during the case because of threats Rivas made on the lives of people involved with the trial and the U.S. Marshals were responsible for protecting the judges, attorneys and jurors involved with the case.
Blakey is still a U.S. Marshal and she is detailed with INTERPOL.
Ernst Meuller was the assistant U.S. Attorney in June of 1983 and handled the grand jury investigation, indictment against and extradition request for Rivas. He is now deputy general counsel for the Office of General Counsel. He was also taken aback by part of his life laying out in front of him.
“It’s nice to be recognized. That case took up a substantial part of my life,” said Meuller. “There are a lot of others not in the exhibit that deserve credit including judges Schlesinger and Melton, U.S. Marshals, DEA agents, IRS and U.S. Customs. Various other agents chipped in throughout the case.”
Allan Clark had to set his grandson straight after he saw the display detailing his grandfather’s work to represent the Florida Canal Authority in the case of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
“He asked me if I sued the president,” said Clark with a chuckle. “I told him, ‘No I sued everyone under him.’”
Clark’s case involved the separation of powers when then President Richard Nixon issued a stop order for the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Clark and attorney Ralph Elliot argued that the president did not have the authority to stop a public works project that had been authorized by the legislature. This case was used to explain the function of an injunction, “an order of a court requiring a person, corporation or government entity to stop doing something.”
The Middle District Court agreed that the president’s action was illegal, but it also agreed to halt construction while an environmental impact study was conducted. The state withdrew its support of the project almost five years after the study was completed.
“That case reaffirmed my belief in the Constitution,” said Clark. “The court has to be the final arbiter to make a decision.”
The Historical Society plans to open exhibits in each of its five divisions and currently has plans for Tampa and Orlando. The Jacksonville exhibit currently displays information from its formative years in the 1960s to present and will change periodically after each division has opened an exhibit.
356-2466