Former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Major Harding gave a eulogy at the Dec. 22 funeral of his former colleague, Leander Shaw. It is printed today with Harding’s permission.
I am honored and privileged to have been asked to speak and share some memories of our dear friend, Leander Shaw.
While we did not know it at the time, our lives in the law began on the same day in 1960. Lee and I were sworn into The Florida Bar on the same day in June of 1960.
In 1991, when my wife was packing to move to Tallahassee, she found a photo of the group sworn in that day standing on the steps of the Supreme Court.
When she looked to find me, she saw Lee Shaw standing next to me. That picture, now hanging in the lawyers’ lounge of the court and in my office, is a reminder of the warm friendship Lee and I shared over the years.
After admission to the Bar, Lee moved to Jacksonville and entered private practice. After my military commitment I returned to Jacksonville.
Shortly thereafter, Ed Austin, who later became the state attorney and mayor of Jacksonville, became the first public defender in Jacksonville.
He told me once that he had heavy counsel not to hire a black man as an assistant public defender, but he went against that advice and hired Lee Shaw and found him to be extremely effective in helping to develop that office into the best in the state.
There is a story that in the early days when Lee and some other lawyers in the Public Defender’s Office were struggling with some heavy decision, one of Lee’s colleagues suggested, “Look, we can do what we want to do, we are free, white and 21?”
Lee is reported to have said, “You want to run that by again?”
Lee also followed Ed Austin to the State Attorney’s Office and became a distinguished prosecutor of capital cases, and after leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Lee entered private practice.
In 1972 he ran for circuit judge.
I recall his opponent, a white man, posted ads that showed his picture and the words, “looks like a judge.”
Lee lost that election, but later in 1979 he became an appellate judge and was able to rule on that judge’s decisions.
I often wondered how that judge felt about his ad then.
One of my most vivid remembrances of Lee in Jacksonville was after I became a juvenile court judge in 1968.
Lee appeared before me representing a grandfather seeking custody of his grandchild whose mother had died after jumping off the Main Street Bridge. The grandmother was seeking custody, too.
After hearing the evidence I determined and announced that custody should go to Lee’s client. Over the years that followed, Lee and I have laughed at our different memories of what happened after I announced my decision.
However, what we both remember was that the grandmother pulled a gun and there was a mass evacuation of the courtroom.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and Grandma was taken into custody, and Lee and the other attorney ran out of the courthouse and down the street.
In 1974, Lee was appointed to the industrial relations commission by Gov. (Reubin) Askew, and in 1979, Gov. (Bob) Graham appointed him to the appellate court.
After he became an appellate judge, I had the privilege of seeing him at judges’ meetings and we renewed our friendship.
Gov. Graham appointed Lee to the Supreme Court in 1983. I was appointed to the Supreme Court when Lee was chief justice in 1991.
When I came over to Tallahassee to take my oath at the secretary of state’s office, Lee heard I was coming and invited Jane and me to come over to the supreme court.
We went over and he gave us a tour, showed us where my office would be and encouraged us to come to Tallahassee as quickly as we could.
I have often thought it was more than coincidence that we would be standing next to each other on the steps of the Supreme Court building outside in June of 1960 and would later be sitting on the same bench together inside the Supreme Court building.
Lee had a great concern for the public perception of the court.
Justice Fred Lewis tells of an incident when he was with Lee at an event and a photographer wanted to take their picture.
Lee turned and took his glass and the glass from Justice Lewis and put them on the table behind them saying something to the effect that it is best not to picture the justices as drinkers, We all always admired Lee Shaw’s sense of propriety and his efforts to protect the image of the court.
Working with Lee on the court was truly a pleasure. His colleagues remember his constant and consistent collegiality.
There was never any hostility exhibited by him even if he disagreed with you on the outcome of a case or any issue.
I remember one time when after indicating in conference that he disagreed with how I thought the case ought to be decided, he later came into my office and threw the opinion I had written down on my desk and said, “Dadgummit, Major, I have to go with you.”
We both laughed. His demeanor and sense of humor were effective to relieve any tension that may exist.
I know of several times Lee Shaw voted the way he thought the Constitution, law and precedent required rather than the way he would have voted without them.
In that regard we also remember that he always carried in his pocket a copy of the United States Constitution.
Justice (Barbara) Pariente reminded me of a saying we all had heard from Lee Shaw: “When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know it didn’t get there by itself.”
Lee Shaw used this phrase to express his acknowledgement that he had lots of help achieving the success he had achieved. He also used this phrase to remind us that we, too, should acknowledge and be thankful for the help we have received along our journey to success.
Lee Shaw’s recognition of this help has been reflected not only in his saying about the turtle, but also in his living it.
One example was when Lee saw a story on the evening news where a woman had been robbed and the money she had saved to have dentures was stolen.
He became concerned and asked his daughter to find out who the woman was and who the dentist was, and behind the scenes, he arranged to pay for the woman’s dentures.
Another similar story relates to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the havoc it was creating in the lives of young children.
When he learned of the difficulty, he funded his own relief effort to aid hungry children with food and clothing. And, of course, as with the dentures, in true Lee Shaw form, he took no public credit for helping put the turtle on the top of the fence post.
While I was chief justice, Lee was the senior member of the court. He sat next to me on the right.
Because of his life experiences, his distinguished legal and judicial careers and because he gave such wise counsel I often would go to him for counsel, in my leadership role as chief justice.
Justice (Peggy) Quince reminded me of Lee Shaw’s doodling. While he sat next to me I got to see some of his doodles first-hand.
While there may have been questions about the doodles being art, I had some of them framed. But the discussion about hanging them in the rotunda of the court died quickly.
My life has been enriched by my friendship with Leander Shaw and the opportunity to serve together.
The lives of the people of this state have been enriched and well served by Leander Shaw because he never lost sight of the past and never gave up hope for the future.
Thank you.