by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Fourth Judicial Circuit is respected throughout the state for its professionalism and civility, according to Chief Judge Donald Moran, and that reputation has been developed through the work of the local legal community.
Six members of that community were recognized for their contributions to upholding that reputation with a portrait ceremony Thursday at the Duval County Courthouse.
All of the honorees served on the bench of the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
They were Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Adams (1979-93) and former Judges Alban Brooke (1989-2002), Hugh Fletcher (1976-2000), Morton Kesler (1973-95), John Southwood (1975-96) and Hans Tanzler (1960-1967).
Being the first mayor of the consolidated City of Jacksonville may contribute to people overlooking Hans Tanzler’s judicial career, but the former mayor and judge was thanked for his service Thursday.
“I think Hans did a good job as a judge, as is evident by the people of Jacksonville electing him as the first mayor of the consolidated City of Jacksonville,” said Lacy Mahon, who was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1953-55 and the Duval County Solicitor from 1957-60, an office Tanzler held prior to becoming a judge.
Tanzler’s son, Hans Tanzler III, was appreciative of the honor bestowed on his father.
“After he won the election, he became Mayor Tanzler, but he was Judge Tanzler before that,” said the judge’s son. “And now he is going to make history as Judge Tanzler by being included on the wall, and we thank you for this opportunity.”
The ceremony also provided an opportunity for Moran to talk about Adams, one of the judges with whom he shared chambers.
“Besides being a wonderful person, he was always the highest-rated judge in the circuit. That came about from his temperament and his personality,” said Moran.
“In addition to being a very, very smart judge, he had the right temperament that we should all strive for,” said Moran.
The chief judge also commended the work of Fletcher for his work on a committee to craft jury instructions for misdemeanor cases when they were both Duval County judges.
“It was the hardest-working group I’ve ever been on and that group drafted all the standard jury instructions (for misdemeanors), submitted it to the Florida Supreme Court and it was eventually approved,” said Moran. “It served the entire state very well.”
Brooke served in both Duval and Nassau counties. He acknowledged that some may look at being assigned to a “smaller” community as punishment, but he enjoyed the move to Nassau County to finish his career.
“I remember the newspaper came to me and asked, ‘Judge, do you think you can handle a little county like this?’” said Brooke. “I said that I grew up in a county in Maryland that it would take three of to make up one Nassau County, so I was right at home in that little county and I loved it.”
Southwood hasn’t retired from the bench. He occasionally presides over cases as a senior judge.
“I enjoyed every minute on the bench, 10 years on the county and 12 on the circuit,” said Southwood.
Moran recognized Kesler as one of the first judges to take the bench in the circuit after the state discontinued the Justice of the Peace system, and former Florida Bar President Hank Coxe spoke about Kesler’s time on the bench.
“Immediately before trial began, he would meet with the lawyers and not so subtly remind everyone what the maximum penalties would be if the defendant were convicted at trial, and that was a message never lost on the parties,” said Coxe.
The portraits will be hung in the current Duval County Courthouse until the new courthouse is open.
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