by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
No one could believe that a man so full of life was left without it Wednesday.
The Fourth Judicial Circuit was notified Wednesday morning that Circuit Judge Jefferson “Jeff” Morrow had died earlier that morning at his home, according to Court Administrator Joe Stelma.
The cause of death has not been confirmed.
Morrow, 56, held class at the courthouse the previous night. He was an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal School of Law and was teaching a class on “Practical Professionalism.”
“I just can’t believe it,” said Judge Jim Daniel, who was admitted to the bench along with Morrow on Jan. 1, 2009.
“I saw him with his class (at the courthouse) last night. There was no one who possessed as much energy as Jeff. He was a really great man,” said Daniel.
Chief Judge Donald Moran will take over Morrow’s schedule until a replacement is appointed.
Morrow’s legal career began in 1983 with the Public Defender’s Office. He became known as an expert on handling cases of abuse at nursing homes.
Attorney Hugh Cotney turned to Morrow for assistance in representing a woman whose mother had been raped in a local nursing home. Cotney and Morrow teamed up to win a $750,000 judgment for Sandra Banning.
“That was one of the highlights of my career and I was proud to work with Jeff,” said Cotney. “I remember Jeff when he started at the Public Defender’s Office and I knew he was an expert on nursing homes, so I tapped into his expertise to represent Ms. Banning. He was a great friend and always brightened the day.”
The hard work continued for Morrow when he ran unopposed for a seat on the bench of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in 2008. Both his passion for the law and the outdoors were well received by the circuit.
“He led such an interesting life and always had a story to tell,” said Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper, who is the administrative judge for the Criminal Division, where Morrow was assigned.
“But when there was work to be done, he would jump right in and help with something if someone needed it. If someone got sick or had an extra trial that needed to be heard, he would take it. He was a great team player and extremely bright,” she said.
The “interesting life” included fishing, diving, surfing and filmmaking. He could often be found fishing on vessels from powerboats to sea kayaks.
He enjoyed many of those passions on a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands, which ended days before his death.
His last post on Facebook Feb. 23 was about his passion outside of the office: “swam with a ton of gigantic hammerhead sharks, white tips, and lemon sharks today off the Galapagos Islands on the equator——-magnificent experience—-brings you closer to raw nature in it’s purest form...........tomorrow marlin fishing.........”
On the evening of Feb. 25, he posted that he saw more than 60 marlin, “caught a bunch...All were released...”
He also stated that he was trying to film the final scene for his movie “Fins,” which had been filmed throughout Jacksonville. He had planned to have a local showing of the film when it was completed.
A trailer for “Fins - The Movie,” as well as other Morrow fishing adventures, can be viewed on YouTube.
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