by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The passing last week of Judge Jefferson “Jeff” Morrow caused many to scroll through the memories that they shared with one of Jacksonville’s renaissance men. Services were held Sunday. This is an account of some of the interviews Morrow participated in with the Daily Record.
On spending time fishing with his son and friends in Panama:
“It’s a great way to spend time with your kid. Usually the first question they ask is, ‘When do we get to play video games?’ But they never complained about no TV, no video games, they never complained about the 5 a.m. wake- ups.”
About commuting from his Riverside home to the courthouse on a Vespa Scooter.
“It’s about 5 cents a day to get to work and back. It’s not loud and it’s not fast, but it gets me where I need to go.”
About his favorite office mate:
“Tom Edwards was my favorite roommate. He always had so much energy and worked so hard. He’d work a 15-hour day and be back bright and early the next day like it was nothing.”
About closing his practice after he was elected judge:
“It’s going to be a strange feeling when I have to close the office,” said Morrow. “I’ve got family here, in a sense. I will miss all of those people.”
About wanting to be a judge:
“As a lawyer, a judgeship was thought of as a higher calling despite the lower salary. After handling more than 7,000 cases, trying more than 200 jury trials in both civil and criminal court, arguing many appeals before the Florida Supreme Court and the various District Courts of Appeals, and handling many wrongful death cases on behalf of victims, it suddenly struck me like a lightning bolt that it was time to move on and do something different.”
About what every lawyer should know before stepping into his court:
“The attorneys should know that the three most important things in my court are preparation, preparation and preparation. Many cases bristle with simplicity, yet the attorneys make it convoluted by lack of preparation. Most issues you can argue in 20 minutes. If you can’t, maybe you should leave the courtroom and write a book about it. Lawyers should immediately zero in on their issue to capture the judge’s attention, so, within an instant, the judge will recognize the legal position.”
While directing a scene for his film “Fins - The Movie”:
“I need you to be a little more grrrr, a little more pissed off,” to retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Greg Van Dyke.
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A week ago Friday, Jeff, Steve Parker, Gene Moss and I left the dock at San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, a little after 6:30 a.m. We were leaving early because the preceding two days had abundant sightings of frigate birds, blue-footed boobies and sea lions (lobos marinos in Spanish) and six or seven yellow fin tuna. But, we were looking for marlin and had not brought any to the boat.
We ran 80 or so miles in two and a half hours in an uncharacteristically calm Pacific before setting out baits in the spread. There were lures on the outlines, attached to the outriggers, and ballyhoo on the flat lines.
This day, we now know, was among the last on Earth for our wonderful friend Jeff. And what a day it was. By day’s end, we had raised 28 marlin, hooked 11 of them, and brought four to the stern long enough to take a picture and release them unharmed. The hookup to strike ratio was lower than usual because Jeff had insisted that we use circle hooks rather than the usual “J” hooks. The circle hooks are harder to produce a hookup, but increase the survival rate of the fish.
Somewhere around 4:30 p.m. we pulled in the baits to allow time for the long run back to the dock before dark. On the way back, of course, we had to finish what was the last of the Walker’s dark rum.
As usual, Jeff was full of energy, constantly checking the horizon for birds, scrambling up and down the ladder to the flybridge, and helping the mates haul the fish over the stern for a picture before they were released.
Between those chores, he was talking excitedly about finishing his movie that had been in progress for months. He even showed us the fake, wax arm with a wrist watch that would protrude from a shark’s mouth in the climactic scene. He joked that it was going to be a happy ending because it was a lawyer that the shark was eating.
Inexplicably, he is now gone. He was a hugely talented, thoughtful and thoroughly decent man. Before all the accolades on his splendid career as a lawyer and judge, he was first and foremost a wonderful human being whom I was very proud to call friend. You didn’t need to know Jeff very well to know how much he loved his wife, his two great kids and days like that Friday. It can truly be said about him that while alive, he lived, including that last day on the Pacific Ocean.
– by Bob Willis
Both as a lawyer and as a judge, Jeff’s great talent was that he loved people and treated everyone with respect. If he leaves a legacy to our bench, it would be a legacy of patience and respect for the people before the court.
But the law, while important to Jeff, was only a part of his life. Jeff was a unique individual who had many extraordinary talents outside the law. He was an accomplished pianist, a poet, an author, a professor, a movie writer and director of screen plays, a basketball player, a father and coach to his children, and a best friend to his wife and to many, many other people.
Jeff had an extraordinary ability to work hard and then enjoy the many other pursuits of life, while convincing the rest of us to forget about the demands of the moment. He approached everything he did with an almost childlike excitement and exuberance that was infectious and whether it was diving in the Galapagos Islands, fishing off of Guatemala, cooking out in the Bahamas or sitting on his back porch overlooking the marsh, Jeff’s excitement and friendship helped to create moments of respite from the demands of our everyday lives.
The morning following Jeff’s death, I went to Jeff’s office at the courthouse to gather some papers for his family. Sitting atop a stack of legal research and a court file was a book of poetry which was opened to a page that read as follows:
Waiting
Dusk, and all is chill.
I am here still.
Awaiting your coming.
Here wait.
And always will.
Jeff will be missed by his family and his many friends, but I have no doubt that Jeff is waiting on his friends with a smile on his face, a fishing pole in hand and an excitement that is infectious.
– by Thomas S. Edwards Jr.
To say Jeff was a great friend is a tremendous understatement. In the more than 25 years I’ve known Jeff, he was always a positive and enthusiastic friend. His infectious laugh and storytelling ability were without equal and if you saw Jeff, you had to feel better.
Jeff was an excellent trial lawyer and an expert on nursing home litigation. Several years ago I associated Jeff on a nursing home case. Working with Jeff from pre-suit through post judgment in that case was a great professional experience. The litigation was complex, intense and often contentious between opposing counsel and me. Throughout the case, Jeff maintained his usual calm professionalism.
Jeff had an encyclopedic memory of nursing home law. During arguments with opposing counsel, Jeff would cite the nursing home law down to the last subpart of the statute and as the litigation progressed, the presiding judges trusted Jeff’s knowledge of the law.
Jeff was a gentleman throughout the case and one example comes to mind. During a heated argument at a lunch recess, defense counsel made a comment I thought was an attack on Jeff and I objected in Jeff’s defense. Opposing counsel said, ”Your honor, I have the greatest respect for Mr. Morrow.” That was the only thing we agreed on during the trial.
Jeff’s ability and desire to be a great trial lawyer was only exceeded by his heart. He always put the well-being of others before his own and never wanted thanks or recognition for all the good he did.
We are all better because we knew Jefferson Morrow. Jeff is our friend, always and forever.
– by Hugh Cotney
Jeff was gracious, generous and energetic.
– by Steve Parker
Although I knew Judge Morrow for years as a passionate, prepared and zealous advocate for his clients, I learned so much more about him once he joined us on the bench. He was judicial in demeanor, just in his decisions, a constant help to his bench mates, and very knowledgeable about the law. He was bright, witty and fun. He brought passion and compassion to the bench with him. And, he NEVER hesitated to entertain us with stories about his interesting and well-lived life.
– by Judge Mallory Cooper
It gives me great pleasure to write these words. You know, we spend a lot of time bickering about little things, when it is “small things” we sometimes forget about. We go on in life forgetting to tell each other how much we “love them,” until it is too late. I say that, to say this: “Judge Morrow was a great man!” We had the pleasure of working with Judge Morrow in the Juvenile Division and his death has really hit me hard. Life is short, tomorrow, nor the remaining of the day, is promised to any one.
– by Judge Henry Davis
Jeff was a good friend to everyone. Last October we shrimped in the river off of my dock. I was amazed how good of a shape he was in. He threw an 8-foot net for hours. Of course I was shocked when I learned of his death. In the course of shrimping, he was also shooting video for his latest movie on shark finning, which is about the practice in the far east of cutting and eating shark fins and leaving the sharks to die because of bacterial infections. I hope it gets finished. I was amazed of his knowledge concerning all kinds of sea creatures. I guess it is better to say he was also a good friend to all the creatures in the sea. He will indeed be missed.
– by Judge Charles “Chuck” Arnold
I am sure you will not run out of stories to memorialize Judge Morrow. He was loved by all for his infectious laughter and easygoing ways. He was a friend to all. I have known Jeff for 30 years. His wife, Susie, became my friend a week after I arrived in Jacksonville and she remains one of my closest friends. My heart aches for her and their children.
– by Judge Roberto Arias
Judge Morrow was a friend for more than 30 years, and a consummate professional. His passing is a tragedy for his family and friends, for our legal community and for Jacksonville as a whole.
– by Judge Hugh Carithers
“Dear Jeff, Thank you for leading my son Jack and I on one of the greatest adventures of our lives - Galapagos 2008.”
– by Judge Brad Stetson