TALLAHASSEE, Dec. 17, 2004 -- Jacksonville attorney Henry M. "Hank" Coxe III has become president-elect designate of The Florida Bar. Mr. Coxe will be sworn in at the June Annual Meeting in Orlando as president-elect when current President-elect Alan Bookman is sworn in as president. Mr. Coxe will be sworn in as president in June 2006.
In describing his outlook for the Bar, he referred to the Florida Supreme Court’s 1949 opinion that created The Florida Bar. In that opinion, Mr. Coxe said, "the court found that 'we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that, like other institutions of the country, it [the legal profession] is under attack and we have a duty to meet that attack courageously. We think this duty devolves on the Bar as a whole.' There is really only one issue and that is the protection of the profession and the judiciary while serving the public.”
The best way to accomplish that, Mr. Coxe added, is by “ensuring for generations to come that the judiciary remains an independent third branch of government, and that judges can make decisions independent of public opinion, media and the other two branches of government, just as the other two branches of government should be able to operate contitutionally independently of the judiciary.”
To some extent, that involves bucking some current trends. “I marvel at the extent we go to teach our children about the importance of the three branches of government and in reality so many adults can ignore it when it suits their purpose,” Mr. Coxe said.
Mr. Coxe has served on the Bar's Board of Governors since 1995, and has chaired its Legislative Committee and the Disciplinary Review Committee, among other duties. He is currently the chair of the Special Commission on Lawyer Regulation, which is performing a top to bottom review of the Bar’s grievance process.
After getting his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of the South, Mr. Coxe got his law degree from Washington & Lee University in 1972. He joined the Virginia Bar in 1972, and the Florida Bar in 1973, when he also joined the Fourth Circuit State Attorney’s Office, eventually heading up the felony division and the special prosecution division that handled complex prosecutions. From 1981 to 1996, Mr. Coxe ran his own firm and then in 1996 he joined the firm of Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe. Mr. Coxe concentrates his practice in criminal defense.
He also has extensive experience in a variety of state and local bar activities. He is a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association, serves on the board of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, and as a master of the Chester Bedell Inn of Court. Mr. Coxe has chaired the Fourth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and served on the First District Court of Appeal JNC, and has also headed the Disciplinary Grievance Committee of the U.S. District Court, Jacksonville Division.
CONTACT: Jennifer Krell Davis, The Florida Bar
DATE: Dec. 17, 2004
TELEPHONE: 850/561-5666
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Circuit Court Judgeship Opens in Seventh Judicial Circuit
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TALLAHASSEE, Jan. 13, 2005 -- Applications are being sought to fill a judicial vacancy in the Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, created by the resignation of The Honorable Robert K. Mathis.
An applicant must be a registered Florida voter and been a member in good standing of The Florida Bar for the preceding five (5) years. In addition, any applicant chosen by the Governor must reside in the Seventh Judicial Circuit upon assuming office. Application forms are available on The Florida Bar's Web site, www.flabar.org, or from the office of the Chair of the Seventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, William E. Loucks, 444 Seabreeze Blvd., Ste 900, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32118.
An original and nine (9) copies of the completed application must be delivered to and received by Mr. Loucks no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, February 11, 2005, at the above address. Commission members will evaluate all Applicants and, upon completion of the evaluation process, submit up to six (6) names to the Governor. Interviews of the Applicants will be conducted on dates and at a location to be announced.
The current members of the Seventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission are Edwin Davis, James D. Clark, Michael E. Glenn, Michael M. Lambert, Maureen S. Christine, Sean Daly, Lonnie N. Groot, William J. Voges and William E. Loucks.
CONTACT: William E. Loucks
DATE: Jan. 13, 2005
TELEPHONE: 386-254-6875 |
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