THE MARSHAL: PLEASE RISE. HEAR YE, HEAR YE, HEAR YE, THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA IS NOW IN CEREMONIAL SESSION. ALL WHO HAVE CAUSE TO PLEA, DRAW NEAR, GIVE ATTENTION AND YOU SHALL BE HEARD. GOD SAVE THESE UNITED STATES, THIS GREAT STATE OF FLORIDA, AND THIS HONORABLE COURT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. PLEASE BE SEATED.

JUST A SECOND. I'VE GOT TO GET UP TO THE BENCH. I HOPE THAT THE WFSU-TV DIDN'T CATCH THAT. GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND WELCOME TO THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. I ESPECIALLY WELCOME FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES TO JOIN WITH US TODAY FOR A SPECIAL CEREMONIAL SESSION OF THE COURT HONORING THE LIFE OF OUR COLLEAGUE, OUR FRIEND, JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH. THE COURT WILL RECOGNIZE JUSTICE EHRLICH'S SON, JACK BETTMAN, TO COME TO THE PODIUM TO GIVE THE INVOCATION.

PLEASE RISE FOR THE INVOCATION. OUR HEAVENLY, SOVEREIGN AND PROTECTOR, TODAY WE INVOKE YOUR BLESSINGS AS WE CELEBRATE THE LIFE, LEADERSHIP AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CHIEF JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH. RAY WAS MY STEPFATHER, AND I WAS HONORED TO SHARE RAY'S LOVE AND RESPECT AND TO PRACTICE LAW WITH HIM. KNOWN FOR HIS ELOQUENCE AND EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS, RAYMOND EHRLICH WAS A MASTERFUL TRIAL LAWYER FOR 35 YEARS BEFORE BECOMING A JUSTICE ON THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. RAYMOND EHRLICH EXCELLED AS A LAWYER AND AS A JUSTICE, BECAUSE OF HIS INTENSE WORK ETHIC, HIS POWERFUL INTELLECT, AND HIS SINCERE CONCERN FOR PEOPLE. WE HAVE COME TOGETHER TO JOYFULLY RECOGNIZE THIS GREAT MAN'S COMMITMENT TO THE LAW AND TO THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA. RAYMOND EHRLICH WAS AN OUTSTANDING JURIST, A SCHOLAR WHO WAS A FRIEND AND MENTOR TO MANY. HE WAS A TOWERING FIGURE IN THE LAW, AND THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA. RAYMOND EHRLICH'S EXAMPLE INSPIRES US TO WORK HARDER, TO LIVE LIFE MORE INTENSELY, AND TO SEE BEYOND THE PRESENT INTO THE FUTURE. HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER WAS DEVOTED TO THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE. WHILE HE CHAMPIONED JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE. WE REJOICE AS WE MARK THE STANDARD THAT RAY SET FOR LAWYER AND JUDICIAL ETHICS. RAYMOND EHRLICH LOVED THE LIFE OF LEARNING AND THE LAW. BUT PERHAPS EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO THIS TRULY SPECIAL AND WONDERFUL MAN WAS THE HAPPINESS AND JOY HE EXCHANGED WITH OTHERS. RAY TOLD THE BEST JOKES AND HE TOLD THEM WELL. IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE ANY OF US CAN FORGET RAY'S SWEET SMILE AND THE TWINKLE IN HIS PIERCING BLUE EYES. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE IMAGE OF CHIEF JUSTICE EHRLICH LAUGHING WITH CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST ON THE BACK OF A FISHING BOAT. WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THIS OCCASION TO CELEBRATE RAYMOND EHRLICH'S LIFE, AND WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE MANY YEARS THAT RAY GRACED US WITH HIS LOVE AND WITH HIS INEXHAUSTIBLE ENERGY. AMEN.

WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DISTINGUISHED GUESTS HERE WITH US TODAY. IN FACT, IF I BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE EVERYBODY WHO IS DISTINGUISHED I THINK THAT WE WOULD HAVE THE WHOLE COURTROOM STANDING, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE FORMER JUSTICES OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. IF YOU WOULD ALL STAND AND BE RECOGNIZED. [ APPLAUSE ]

AS JACK BETTMAN SAID, WE ARE HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE A LIFE WELL LIVED. FOR JUSTICE EHRLICH BEST EXEMPLIFIES THE FULFILLMENT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM AND A LIFE DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. I WOULD LIKE TO JUST SHARE BRIEFLY WITH YOU THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS PARENTS' LIVES WHICH GREATLY INFLUENCED RAYMOND EHRLICH'S PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE. BETWEEN 1880 AND THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I, AN ESTIMATED 2 MILLION JEWS FLED CZAR'S EMPIRE OF RUSSIA TO ESCAPE THE VIOLENCE AND ATROCITIES AFFLICTED UPON THEM THERE. THOSE ARE THE YEARS OF THE POGRAMS WHICH TODAY WE MIGHT SEE AS THE PRECURSORS OF THE NAZI EXTERMINATION CAMPS. RUSSIAN JEWS WERE BEING ATTACKED AND KILLED SYSTEMATICALLY BECAUSE THEY WERE JEWS, WITH THE CZAR'S APPROVAL OR SIMPLE REFUSAL TO INTERVENE. MANY WHO FLED CAME TO AMERICA AND AMONG THOSE WAS A MAN WHO LATER WOULD BE CALLED BENNY EHRLICH. FROM THE TOWN OF KOVAL. THERE ALSO WAS A WOMAN NAMED ESTHER FROM MENSK WHO BENNY EHRLICH WOULD MARRY. BENNY AND ESTHER GAVE BIRTH TO A SON, RAYMOND, BORN IN 1918 IN SWAINSBORO, GEORGIA. EVENTUALLY THE FAMILY MOVED TO FLORIDA. AS YOU WILL HEAR MORE FULLY TODAY, RAYMOND BECAME ATTORNEY RAY EHRLICH, ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED ATTORNEYS IN THE STATE, AND THEN AFTER AN INCREDIBLY DISTINGUISHED LEGAL CAREER HONORED ALL OF US BY APPLYING TO BE AND THEN IN 1981 BECOMING JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH, A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA AND AS CHIEF JUSTICE IN 1988. YEARS LATER, DESPITE HIS EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS, HE NEVER FORGOT THE LESSONS HIS PARENTS TAUGHT HIM ABOUT THE BARBARISM OF THE LAND HE HAD LEFT BEHIND. AS JUSTICE EHRLICH LATER SAID, QUOTE, HIS PARENTS CAME TO A STRANGE LAND. THOUSANDS OF MILES FROM THEIR HOMES WITH NO MONEY, NO FORMAL EDUCATION AND NO SKILLS. THEY DID THIS BECAUSE HERE THEY WOULD FIND A LEVEL OF FREEDOM UNKNOWN TO THE JEWS OF RUSSIA. QUOTE, I LEARNED EARLY ON IN MY LIFE AS A CHILD HE ONCE SAID THE MEANING OF THE LIBERTIES GUARANTEED TO US BY THE BILL OF RIGHTS. I KNEW THAT MY PARENTS HAD SEPARATELY AS TEENAGERS FLED THE TYRANNY OF THE CZAR. I TELL YOU ALL OF THIS TO UNDERSCORE ANOTHER STRONG COMMITMENT IN JUSTICE EHRLICH'S LIFE. HIS COMMITMENT TO THE ROLE OF THE AMERICAN LAWYER IN ENFORCING OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS. JUSTICE EHRLICH EXPLAINED IT THIS WAY: QUOTE, THE BILL OF RIGHTS WOULDN'T BE WORTH THE PAPER IT IS WRITTEN ON, EXCEPT FOR A VIGILANT AND A STRONG BAR. AND JUSTICE EHRLICH BELIEVED IN THIS PRINCIPLE WITH ALL OF HIS HEART AND ALL OF HIS SOUL. LATER THIS AFTERNOON, I WILL BE SWEARING IN 79 NEW LAWYERS TO THE FLORIDA BAR, AND I WILL QUOTE THOSE WORDS FROM JUSTICE EHRLICH AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF LAWYERS. WITH THAT, I WOULD NOW LIKE TO TURN TO OUR SPEAKERS WHO WILL HELP FILL US IN EVEN BETTER ON THE LIFE AND THE LEGACY OF JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH. THE COURT FIRST RECOGNIZES ONE OF JUSTICE EHRLICH'S FORMER LAW CLERKS, BILL BRADLEY, TO COME TO THE PODIUM FOR REMARKS. MR.^BRADLEY?

CHIEF PARIENTE, MEMBERS OF THE COURT AND FRIENDS OF RAY. I'M TEMPTED TO DEPART FROM WHAT I HAVE PREPARED WITH THE POWERFUL WORDS THAT OUR CHIEF JUSTICE HAS JUST SPOKEN, SORT OF UNDERSCORES RAY EHRLICH KNEW ME BEFORE I WAS BORN. HE AND MY DAD WERE BEST FRIENDS. MY MOM WHO IS HERE TODAY AT ALMOST 89 YEARS OLD WAS ONE OF HIS LAW SCHOOL CLASSMATES SO I COULD TALK TO MANY HOURS BUT I AM NOT GOING TO DO THAT. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ARE SOME OF MY BEST REMEMBRANCES OF RAY HERE. WE CAN READ SOUTHERN REPORTERS AND SEE WHAT RAY EHRLICH DID AS A JURIST AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO LIVED IN JACKSONVILLE STORIES ABOUT HIS TRIAL PRACTICE ARE LEGENDARY. WHO ELSE COULD HAVE GOTTEN AN EXPERT WITNESS TO ONCE ADMIT IN PUBLIC IN COURT THAT DEAD CHICKENS DON'T LAY EGGS. AROSTOTLE ONCE SAID, WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO. EXCELLENCE IS NOT A FACT BUT A HABIT. I DON'T KNOW OF ANY HUMAN BEING WHO I HAVE EVER KNOWN THAT THAT IS MORE TYPICAL OF THAN RAY EHRLICH. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THAT IS AFTER HIS LAW SCHOOL CAREER WAS INTERRUPTED ALONG WITH MY UNCLE TO GO FIGHT IN THE WAR, PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS, HE RETURNED, FINISHED LAW SCHOOL, WENT TO WORK, AND WHEN I SAY WENT TO WORK HE WENT TO WORK. WHEN HIS PEERS AND HIS FRIENDS WERE COMING TO WORK IN THE MORNING RAY WAS ALREADY AT THE OFFICE. WHEN THEY WENT HOME TO BE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AT NIGHT, RAY WAS STILL AT THE OFFICE. WHEN THEY WENT OUT TO PLAY ON THE WEEKENDS RAY WAS BACK AT THE OFFICE. THAT WAS A HABIT HE KEPT UP UNTIL THE END WHEN I WORKED HERE FOR HIM AND LATER AT HOLLAND AND KNIGHT HE WOULD CALL ME ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AT HOME JUST TO ASK ME WHERE I WAS SO HE COULD TELL ME HE WAS AT THE OFFICE. HIS WORK ETHIC, YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT RAY, HIS WORK ETHIC WAS LEGENDARY AND HE ONCE TOLD ME THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR DOING YOUR HOMEWORK. THE PART OF RAY THAT MAKES US GATHER HERE TODAY IS NOT THAT HE WAS SUCH A HARD WORKER, AND IT IS NOT JUST BECAUSE HE WAS SUCH AN INCREDIBLY FINE AND EXCELLENT LAWYER AND JUDGE WITH A PASSION AND A FEARS DEDICATION TO THE RULE OF LAW THAT IS UNEQUALED IN MY EXPERIENCE, BUT IT IS BECAUSE HE WAS A WORLD-CLASS HUMAN BEING. AND WHAT I WHAT REALLY LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU IS MY EXPERIENCE AT THE COURT WITH RAY THAT CAN BE SUMMED UP VERY SIMPLY. HE WAS FUN. MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT THE COURT, I STARTED OFF AS A VERY TERRIFIED BRAND NEW LAW STUDENT. I MEAN JUST GRADUATED FROM LAW SCHOOL. TOOK THE BAR EXAM. ABOUT THREE OR FOUR WEEKS LATER HE CAME TO MY OFFICE AND I WAS, YOU KNOW, TERRIFIED TO SPEAK TO HIM UNTIL I HAD HAD SOME EXPERIENCE, AND HE SAID IN VERY SERIOUS TONE, I NEED YOU TO COME WITH ME NOW. I SAID, YES, SIR. SO WE FOLLOWED, WENT TO THE UPPER LEVEL ON THE SECOND FLOOR OUTSIDE OF THE ROTUNDA TO THE COMMUNITY COFFEE POT AND THERE WERE SECRETARIES, LAW CLERKS, OTHER JUSTICES, FOLKS FROM THE LIBRARY AND A BIRTHDAY CAKE AND THERE TO THE SIDE WAS AN EASEL DRAPED WITH A CLOTH AND HE SAID I WANT EVERYBODY TO ENJOY THIS, BECAUSE I HAVE LEARNED THAT BILL IS NOT WHO HE SAYS HE IS. HE IS AN IMPOSTER AND AFTER WE HAVE OUR CAKE I AM GOING TO EXPOSE HIM SO EVERYBODY EXCEPT ME ENJOYED THE CAKE AND THEN HE RIPPED OFF THE CLOTH AND THERE WAS A BLOWN-UP PICTURE ABOUT THIS BIG OF ME IN 1971 WITH HAIR HALFWAY DOWN MY BACK AND A FULL BEARD WHICH EVERYONE THOUGHT WAS FUNNY BUT I WAS, OF COURSE, SITTING THERE WONDERING WHO WAS GOING TO SPEAK TO ME AGAIN BUT RAY WAS LAUGHING SO HARD HE HAD TEARS COMING DOWN HIS EYES. THREE WEEKS LATER I'M SITTING IN THIS COURTROOM AND WATCHING MY VERY FIRST ORAL ARGUMENT. WE STILL DIDN'T HAVE BAR EXAMS AND I HAD JUST LEARNED THAT WHOEVER'S CLERK SCORED THE HIGHEST ON THE BAR EXAM GAVE SOME KIND OF TEASING RIGHTS TO OTHER JUSTICES SO I'M SITTING HERE IN THE AUDIENCE COPIOUSLY TAKING NOTES AND I SEE SID WHITE PASS UP A NOTE TO RAY THAT WAS FOLDED. HE PASSED IT DOWN TO BEN OVERTON WHO READ IT AND FROWNED. AS SOON AS WE GOT DONE, AND I WAS BACK UPSTAIRS LOOKING FOR THE BOSS, I COULDN'T EVEN GET OUT THE WORDS WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT BEFORE HE SAID YOU BEAT THE HARVARD BOY. TURNS OUT BY ONE POINT, BUT FOR RAY THAT WAS ALL HE NEEDED BECAUSE IT GAVE HIM SOMETHING ELSE THAT HE COULD TEASE HIS FRIEND BEN OVERTON ABOUT. I HAPPENED TO BE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE HERE ON RAY'S 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COURT AND ABOUT THREE MONTHS OR FOUR MONTHS AFTER I STARTED I REALIZED EVERYBODY HERE WANTED A CHANCE TO SAY SOMETHING SPECIAL TO RAY, SO FOR TWO WEEKS I SECRETED MY VIDEO CAMERA INTO THE COURT AND TOOK INTERVIEWS. I THINK WHAT HIS FELLOW JUSTICES AND THE OTHER FOLKS WHO WORK AT THIS COURT SAID ABOUT HIM ON THOSE INTERVIEWS SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THE RESONANCE HE HAD WITH OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. I INTERVIEWED SID WHITE OVER THERE AND HE SHOWED ME A BLANK WALL WHERE A PORTRAIT OF JUSTICE EHRLICH WOULD EVENTUALLY HANG RIGHT NEXT TO THAT OF JUSTICE McCAIN. JUSTICE SHAW TOLD US THE STORIES ABOUT THE MERIT RETENTION CAMPAIGN THAT HE AND RAY HAD WORKED ON AND RAY TRICKED HIM INTO DRIVING HIM EVERYWHERE AND DROPPING HIM OFF TO SPEAK AND PARK THE CAR. BY THE TIME HE GOT BACK TO THE ENGAGEMENT RAY WAS UP, FINISHED MAKING HIS SPEECH. JIMMY ATKINS SAID HOW RAY WASN'T A GREAT TRIAL LAWYER. HE HUNG OUT IN THE LAW LIBRARY AND EVERYONE THOUGHT HE WAS PREPARING FOR TRIAL AND THEY WERE ANXIOUS TO SETTLE CASES. JEAN ADAMS TOLD US THAT RAY, WHEN THE APPOINTMENT OF RAY WAS BEING CONSIDERED BY THEN GOVERNOR GRAHAM, RAY HAD BYPASS SURGERY AND THE GOVERNOR CALLED HIM TO SEE HOW HE WAS DOING. RAY CALLED A PRESS CONFERENCE, ANNOUNCED HE HAD BEEN APPOINTED AND GOVERNOR GRAHAM CONSIDERED HIM A POLITICAL LIABILITY EVER SENSE. IN SHORT, THE BOTTOM LINE IS RAY WAS EVERYBODY'S BUDDY. EVERY DAY HE WOULD GO DOWN INTO THE BASEMENT AND COOK UP THEN WHAT WE CALLED HIS PRITIKIN DIET FOOD AND WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED DOWNSTAIRS IN THE STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE. EVERYBODY WHO EVER TALKED TO RAY FELT BETTER FOR IT WHETHER IT WAS SOMETHING FUN OR SERIOUS. HE WAS SOLICITOUS AND GREGARIOUS AND EVERYONE KNEW HE WAS THEIR FRIEND AND THEY COULD ASK HIM OR TALK TO HIM ABOUT ANYTHING. I HAVE ONE SMALL BIT OF RAY EHRLICH WISDOM TO SHARE WITH MEMBERS OF THE COURT BECAUSE I WATCHED HIM DO THIS MORE THAN ONCE. WHEN ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES IS OFF ON SOME TANGENT AND HAS GOT AN OPINION JUST TOTALLY WRONG AND YOU ARE ARGUING AND TRYING TO CONVINCE THEM, DO WHAT RAY DID. LOOK YOUR COLLEAGUE IN THE EYE AND SMILE AND SAY, THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE GOOD NONSENSE. ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF BEING AT THE COURT WAS THE FACT THAT RAY LOVED PARTIES. ANY TIME HE HAD A CHANCE TO BE WITH OTHER PEOPLE AND VISIT AND SHAKE HANDS AND LAUGH, HE WAS IN HIS ELEMENT AND HIS FAVORITE OCCASION EVERY YEAR HERE WAS HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY. HE WOULD MAKE SURE WE HAD ALL OF THE CORRECT FOOD AND DRINK AND THAT EVERYTHING WAS JUST RIGHT AND EVERYONE IN THE BUILDING WAS INVITED, AND THE FIRST YEAR THAT I WAS A CLERK FOR HIS BIRTHDAY I GAVE HIM RIGHT BEFORE THE PARTY STARTED I GAVE HIM A PAIR OF UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GATOR BOXER SHORTS, AND WE ALL GO OUT IN THE HALL AND THE NEXT THING WE KNOW WHEN EVERYBODY IS GATHERED AT THE GRAND ENTRANCE FROM JUSTICE EHRLICH WEARING HIS GATOR BOXER SHORTS OVER HIS SUIT PANTS AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES IS JUSTICE PARKER LEE MCDONALD SWAGGERING DOWN THE HALL SAYING THEY TOLD ME I HAD TO COME DOWN HERE AND LOOK AT EHRLICH IN HIS UNDERWEAR. EVERYONE WHO CAME IN CONTACT WITH RAY MADE HIM THEIR FRIEND AND MANY OF US LOVED HIM. I THINK THIS ROOM IS FULL OF PEOPLE TODAY. MY LOVELY WIFE AND I NAMED OUR DAUGHTER TAYLOR RAY, RAY, AND HER NAME IS NOT TAYLOR, IT IS TAYLOR RAY FOR A REASON. WHEN RAY WAS CORONATED IN THIS COURTROOM HE ASKED MY DAD TO SPEAK IN HIS BEHALF AND WHEN HE COMMEMORATED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL, HE ASKED ME TO SPEAK ON HIS BEHALF AND I ENDED MY REMARKS THEN AND I THINK IT IS JUST AND FITTING AND PROPER THAT I DO IT NOW, BOB GRAHAM, YOU DONE GOOD. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. [ APPLAUSE ]

THANK YOU FOR THOSE REMARKS. I AM CONVINCED THAT RAY IS LOOKING OVER ALL OF US WITH THAT BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE AND THE TWINKLE IN HIS EYE AND WOULD VERY MUCH ENJOY THIS CEREMONY TODAY. I WOULD LIKE TO NOW CALL UPON ONE OF OUR FORMER FLORIDA BAR PRESIDENTS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR FOUNDATION, AND A FELLOW JACKSONVILLEIAN, TERRY RUSSELL FOR REMARKS.

CHIEF JUSTICE PARIENTE, MEMBERS OF THE COURT, JUDGE BARKETT, AND OTHER FORMER JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA. MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA BAR, INCLUDING PRESIDENT BOOKMAN AND PRESIDENT ELECT COX, AND FRIENDS AND MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY OF A MAN WHO WAS ONE OF FLORIDA'S GREATEST JURISTS. I AM DEEPLY HONORED TO BE AMONG THOSE ASKED TO SHARE MY MEMORIES OF JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH. JACK, ZELDA, JERRY AND CAROL ANNE, I FEEL YOUR MOTHER, MICKEY'S PRESENCE HERE TODAY. MARY KAY AND I LOVED MICKEY, AND WE NEVER SAW RAY AFTER HER PASSING THAT HE DID NOT SHARE HIS LOVE FOR HER. JUST AS IF SHE WERE AT HIS SIDE AS SHE ALMOST ALWAYS WAS BEFORE. THOUGH NO ONE COULD EVER TAKE HER PLACE, I KNOW HOW PLEASED SHE WOULD BE AT THE CARE AND LOVE YOU GAVE RAY BOTH IN JACKSONVILLE AND HERE. HE LOVED YOU ALL VERY MUCH. WHEN I LOOK BACK OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES OF MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER, AND WHATEVER MILESTONES THERE MAY HAVE BEEN FOR ME DURING THAT TIME, I CAN THINK OF NOT A SINGLE ONE OF SIGNIFICANCE THAT RAY WAS NOT A PART OF. WHAT WOULD RAY DO BECAME AND CONTINUES TO THIS DAY TO BE A QUESTION I ASK MYSELF, AND ANY CHALLENGING PROFESSIONAL AND SOMETIMES PERSONAL SITUATION. THE IRONY IS I ALMOST ALWAYS KNEW AND STILL KNOW THE ANSWERS. WHAT YOU SAW WAS WHAT YOU GOT WITH RAY AND HE NEVER WAS SHY ABOUT TELLING YOU EXACTLY HOW HE FELT. THAT QUALITY MADE IT SO MUCH EASIER TO GET TO KNOW HIM, AND THE THINGS THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO HIM. WHICH WAS SOMETHING I KNEW I WANTED TO DO WHEN I FIRST MET HIM MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO. IT IS ONLY A FEW TIMES THAT YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE FRIENDSHIP OF EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE WHO YOU KNOW WILL MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE. AND IN SPITE OF HIS WELL-KNOWN SASSY SENSE OF HUMOR TO WHICH SO MANY OF US WERE WELL EXPOSED AND HIS WARM AND EMBRACING NATURE, HIS INTEGRITY, ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM AND SENSE OF JUSTICE SET A STANDARD BEYOND WHICH HE HAD NO FEARS. TO THIS DAY, WHEN I COME ACROSS ONE OF HIS OPINIONS I WILL READ IT AND REREAD IT AND MARVEL AT HIS WRITING AND HIS ANALYTICAL SKILLS. I ENJOYED HIS OPINIONS REGARDING PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN THE FLORIDA BAR. WHILE PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR, HE OFTEN SPOKE TO ME OF HIS RESPECT FOR THE FLORIDA BAR AND THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION. AND THE CITIZENS OF THIS STATE AND THE POWER OF THE CITIZENS TO CHANGE OUR CONSTITUTION. TERRY, HE SAID, WHILE YOU ARE PRESIDENT, DON'T MESS WITH THE 800-POUND GORILLA. THEY HAVE GIVEN US ARTICLE V AND THEY CAN JUST AS EASILY TAKE IT AWAY. I ASSURED HIM THAT THAT ADVICE I WOULD SURELY HEED. MY FAMILY'S ADMIRATION AND LOVE FOR RAY AND MICKEY KNOWS NO BOUNDS AND WHILE I KNOW THEY BOTH KNEW AND BEFRIENDED SO MANY OF US, SOME DAY WHEN I LOOK BACK AT MY LIFE AND MY GOOD FORTUNE, SOMEWHERE VERY CLOSE TO THE TOP OF THE LIST WILL BE THE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP AND GUIDANCE AND MORAL SUPPORT GIVEN TO ME, MARY KAY AND OUR CHILDREN BY MICKEY BETTMAN EHRLICH AND THE LATE FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT, RAYMOND EHRLICH. I KNOW I SPEAK FOR ALL OF THE LAWYERS OF FLORIDA WHEN I SAY WE SHALL NEVER FORGET JUSTICE EHRLICH'S INTELLECT, HIS WISDOM, HIS PROFESSIONAL EXAMPLE, HIS HUMILITY AND HIS LOVE FOR THE LAW. HIS LIFE SERVES AS AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US AND AS FOR ME, WHILE RAY EHRLICH IS A PERMANENT PART OF ME, I WILL SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE BEARING HIS GREATEST GIFT TO ME, BECAUSE I WILL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT HE WOULD WANT US TO DO WHEN OUR CHALLENGING PROFESSION THROWS US A CURVE. HE INSPIRED US WHEN HE WAS ALIVE. HE INSPIRES US TODAY, AND HE ALWAYS WILL. WHAT A HONOR IT WAS TO HAVE KNOWN RAY EHRLICH AND TO HAVE CALLED HIM A FRIEND OF MINE, AND FOR THAT I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL. SO GOD BLESS RAYMOND EHRLICH AND HIS BE LOVED MICKEY, AND THEIR LOVING FAMILIES AND THIS HONORABLE COURT ON WHICH HE SERVED WITH SUCH GREAT DISTINCTION. [ APPLAUSE ]

THANK YOU, TERRY. OUR NEXT THREE SPEAKERS ARE ALL TRULY DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS AND LIKE JUSTICE EHRLICH THEY ARE ALSO FORMER CHIEF JUSTICES OF THIS COURT. THE COURT NOW RECOGNIZES JUSTICE MAJOR B. HARDING FOR REMARKS, WHO BROUGHT TO THE BENCH THE BOWTIE JUSTICE EHRLICH MADE FAME YOU US AS WELL AS HIS WIT AND WISDOM.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT, IT IS A PRIVILEGE FOR ME TO BE HERE, AND TO ALL OF US FRIENDS OF RAY EHRLICH, IT IS A HONOR FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT THIS MEMORIAL. I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF GETTING TO KNOW RAY EHRLICH WHEN I WENT BACK TO JACKSONVILLE AFTER GETTING OUT OF THE ARMY IN THE MIDDLE '60s. HIS LAW PARTNER, JACK MATTHEWS, SON OF JUSTICE MATTHEWS, WHOSE PICTURE IS HANGING RIGHT THERE IN THESE CHAMBERS, WAS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR, AND IT WAS -- THAT WAS MY FIRST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN THAT I GOT INVOLVED IN, AND I WORKED ON THAT CAMPAIGN, AND IT WAS DURING THAT TIME THAT I GOT TO KNOW RAYMOND EHRLICH. AND IT WAS LIKE A LITTLE KID, SEEING THIS GIANT WHEN I GOT TO MEET HIM BECAUSE HE WAS VERY QUICKLY KNOWN TO ME AS A LEGEND IN THE BAR AND THE TRIAL BAR OF JACKSONVILLE. HE HAD AN UNSURPASSED REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE AND FOR A YOUNG LAWYER IT WAS REALLY A THRILL TO GET TO KNOW A MAN OF SUCH DISTINGUISHED REPUTATION. SEVERAL YEARS LATER, I BECAME A CIRCUIT JUDGE, AND IT WAS THEN THAT I GOT TO KNOW RAY EHRLICH AS MORE THAN A LEGEND. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE FIRSTHAND HOW HE PRACTICED LAW, AND ON THE NUMBER OF OCCASIONS THAT HE APPEARED BEFORE ME, I FOUND THAT HE WAS LIKE HIS REPUTATION ALWAYS EXTREMELY PREPARED AND EXTREMELY COURTEOUS AND VERY PROFESSIONAL. I WAS A CIRCUIT JUDGE THERE FOR 23 YEARS, AND WHEN I LOOK BACK OVER MY LIFE AS A CIRCUIT JUDGE THERE, THERE WERE SEVERAL TRIALS THAT STAND OUT IN MY MEMORY, AND ONE OF THEM WAS THE TRIAL -- I CAN'T PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, BUT RAY EHRLICH, LAW PARTNER, JIM COBB IS HERE TODAY, AND HE PRESIDED OR HE WAS THE LAWYER IN THE VERY FIRST CIRCUIT TRIAL THAT I PRESIDED OVER IN JACKSONVILLE. GREETINGS, JIM. BUT RAY AND BILL HOWELL BOTH DEFENSE LAWYERS WERE THE LAWYERS IN THIS JURY TRIAL OVER WHICH I PRESIDED. THE TWO THINGS I REMEMBER ABOUT THAT, ONE OF THEM THEY BOTH WENT TO THE SAME SIDE OF THE TABLE WHEN THEY FINISHED EXAMINING A WITNESS, BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH DEFENSE LAWYERS AND THEY WOULD HAVE DIFFICULT TIME TRYING TO FIND OUT WHICH SIDE OF THE TABLE TO GO TO. BUT DURING THE COURSE OF THAT TRIAL THAT LASTED ABOUT THREE DAYS, I CAN RECALL ONLY TWO OBJECTIONS, AND IT STICKS IN MY MIND AS ONE OF THOSE TRIALS MOST PROFESSIONALLY TRIED OVER WHICH I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF PRESIDING AND TO THIS DAY I CARRY A MEMORY OF A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW LAW OUGHT TO BE PRACTICED AND CASES OUGHT TO BE TRIED. DURING HIS TERM AS CHIEF JUSTICE, HE INSTITUTED THE GENDER BIAS STUDY COMMISSION. HE HAD A GREAT CONCERN THAT THE ISSUE OF GENDER WAS NOT A SOURCE OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE LEGAL WORKPLACE. AND I WAS PRIVILEGED TO HAVE SERVED ON THAT COMMISSION WHILE I WAS A CIRCUIT JUDGE. WE WENT ALL AROUND THE STATE AND TOOK TESTIMONY AND OUR REPORT WAS PUBLISHED AND I'M CONVINCED THAT IT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING TO THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE BAR THE NEED FOR GENDER BIAS TO BE ELIMINATED. I REMEMBER THAT WHEN I MADE MY RESERVATION FOR THE MEETING IN PENSACOLA AT THE PENSACOLA HILTON, WE WERE TOLD AS HE WERE -- WE WERE EACH TIME TO INDICATE THAT WE WERE WITH THE GENDER BIAS STUDY COMMISSION AND WE GOT THE APPROPRIATE STATE RATE AS A RESULT OF THAT. MY SECRETARY MADE THE RESERVATION AND WHEN I RECEIVED THE CONFIRMATION IT WAS ADDRESSED TO JUDGE MAJOR B. HARDING, FLORIDA GENDER BIAS STUD. I ALWAYS TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK RAYMOND EHRLICH AND SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN INDEBTED TO HIM FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET SUCH A CERTIFICATION. JUSTICE EHRLICH WILL ALSO BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE LEGAL SYSTEM, AND ONE OF THOSE EFFORTS IS WHEN HE DECREED ON JANUARY 1ST OF 1990 THAT LEGAL SIZE PAPER WAS ILLEGAL. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE, BUT IN JACKSONVILLE WE WERE VERY UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE WISDOM OF THAT DECISION, AND WE WERE ALSO CONCERNED THAT ONE OF OUR OWN COULD HAVE DONE SUCH A THING, AND YET WE KNOW THAT HIS WISDOM HAS BEEN CONFIRMED IN THE VAST SAVINGS FROM THAT DECISION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN MONUMENTAL. I WAS, AS THE CHIEF JUSTICE MENTIONED, PRIVILEGED TO HAVE FOLLOWED JUSTICE EHRLICH AND SUCCEEDED HIM WHEN HE RETIRED. WHEN I MOVED INTO HIS OFFICE, I WENT THROUGH THE DESK DRAWERS. THEY WERE EMPTY, EXCEPT FOR A BROCHURE INDICATING WHERE HE BOUGHT HIS BOWTIES. I CARRIED ON THE BOWTIE TRADITION. MY SUCCESSOR HAS A NEW TRADITION. A GIABERA, AND JUSTICE CANTERO, BUT I CARRIED ON THAT TRADITION BUT I WAS HONORED TO HAVE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOT STEPS OF A MAN WHO HAVE TIRELESSLY WORKED FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND EXEMPLIFIED EXCELLENCE IN EVERY ASPECT OF HIS LIFE. JANE AND I WILL CARRY FOND MEMORIES OF OUR TIMES WITH HIM AND MICKEY, AND I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THESE MEMORIES WITH YOU. [ APPLAUSE ]

SO NOW WE KNOW THAT JUSTICE HARDING WANTS TO BE -- GO DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN REPORTER AS A STUD. AS I RECOGNIZE OUR NEXT SPEAKER, JUSTICE BEN OVERTON, I WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE PROCEEDINGS NOT ONLY ARE BEING RECORDED ON TELEVISION, BUT THEY WILL BE RECORDED IN THE SOUTHERN REPORTER AND SUBJECT TO DOUBLE BLUE BOOKING AND EVERYTHING ELSE, JUSTICE OVERTON.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I CAN FOLLOW THAT VERY WELL, BUT CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICES, FIRST OF ALL, AS THE CHIEF JUSTICE HAS SAID, RAY EHRLICH WAS A CHILD OF FREEDOM. HIS PARENTS INSTILLED IN HIM THE PASSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF FREEDOM AND FOR THE PRESERVATION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. I JUST CAME FROM A PROGRAM IN POLAND. AND I MENTIONED THIS ONLY FOR THE FACT THAT THIS IS A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW JUST LEARNING TO LIVE WITH FREEDOM AND WITHOUT AND WANTING TO KNOW HOW TO PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. THEY HAVEN'T HAD IT AND THEY ARE JUST LEARNING BECAUSE FOR OVER 50 YEARS, THEY WERE DOMINATED EITHER BY GERMANY OR RUSH A. -- RUSSIA. I SAY THAT TO YOU, BECAUSE IN THINKING ABOUT THESE REMARKS, I THOUGHT THAT RAY EHRLICH WOULD HAVE ENJOYED BEING PART OF THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM, BECAUSE OF HIS PASSION FOR THE CONSTITUTION, FOR PROTECTING IT, AND FOR PRESERVING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. NOW, JERRY HAS ALLOWED ME TO SAY THAT RAY EHRLICH HAS CONTINUED HIS LEGACY BY CREATING TWO IMMINENT SCHOLAR CHAIRS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. ONE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND ONE AT THE COLLEGE OF LAW AT THE COLLEGE OF LAW IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. SO THAT LEGACY OF HIS WILL LIVE ON. YOU KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN SAID HERE AND EMPHASIZED IS THE FACT THAT RAY HAD A STRONG REPUTATION FOR INTEGRITY. IN AN UNMASKED OR UNEQUALED WORK ETHIC. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THIS, AND I MIGHT SAY TO YOU ALSO A VERY DEEP PASSION IN MAKING SURE BOTH THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND THE JUDICIARY WOULD MEET HIS HIGH STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT. NOW, I DIDN'T KNOW RAY PERSONALLY WHEN HE CAME TO THE BENCH. I KNEW HIS LAW PARTNER, JACK MATTHEWS, AND I KNEW HIS REPUTATION AS, QUOTE, THE BRAIN, UNQUOTE, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS A LAWYER'S LAWYER. BUT SHORTLY AFTER HE CAME TO THE COURT, HE CALLED ME AT HOME. HE SAID, BEN, WHAT'S YOUR ADDRESS? AND I TOLD HIM, AND HE SAID I JUST BOUGHT THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM YOU. HE AND MICKEY MOVED IN TO WHAT SOME RESEARCH AIDES CALLED THE SUPREME COURT COMPOUND SINCE AT THAT TIME JUSTICE ALDERMAN LIVED AROUND THE CORNER. WE HAD WITHIN LESS THAN 1500 FEET THREE JUSTICES. WELL, THE FIRST THING I NOTICED WAS COMING UP THE STREET WAS THIS LONG BOAT-TYPE AUTOMOBILE, A CONVERTIBLE. EARLY 1970'S OLDSMOBILE '98 WITH A NEW RAG TOP. NOW, I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER IT WOULD FIT IN THAT GARAGE. I UNDERSTOOD THAT HE REALLY LOVED CONVERTIBLES. I LEARNED THIS A LITTLE BIT IN DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK WITH HIM, BECAUSE WE DID DO CARPOOLING. NOW, I MIGHT SAY TO YOU I ALSO LEARNED SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT THAT AUTOMOBILE. IF IT IS PARKED ON A HILL YOU DON'T WANT TO GET OUT OF THAT CAR UNLESS YOU REALLY HOLD THAT DOOR. MICKEY HAD A SMALL HONDA CIVIC, AND AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME WE WERE RIDING, AND I MIGHT SAY TO YOU THAT TIME-WISE AND YOU TALK ABOUT THE WORK ETHIC, IF YOU WERE RIDING TO WORK WITH RAY EHRLICH HE WANTED YOU TO BE READY TO LEAVE NO LATER, ABSOLUTELY NO LATER THAN 7:10. WE HAD A LITTLE PROBLEM GETTING JUSTICE GRIMES TO MEET THAT PARTICULAR TIMETABLE. AND THEN COMING HOME, I WOULD HAVE TO CALL MARILYN AND SAY, WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE. I'M COMING HOME FROM RAY AND SHE KNEW WE WEREN'T GOING TO LEAVE UNTIL ABOUT 6:30 OR QUARTER UNTIL 7:00. NOW, ALSO ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR TIME, RAY WAS TALKING ABOUT OR GROUSING ABOUT HAVING TO BUY A NEW CAR. AND MICKEY HAD NOTED TO HIM THAT HER SON HAD A MERCEDES, WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE A MERCEDES? I REALLY LET THAT DROP ON THAT OCCASION, AND THEN THE FOLLOWING WEEK OUR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE CAME OUT AND WAS PUBLISHED, AND GUESS WHO WAS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST? AND I MADE MENTION, YOU KNOW, RAY LIKES TO TEASE AND I THOUGHT I'M GOING TO GET BACK A LITTLE BIT, AND I SAID, NOW, RAY, IF MICKEY LOOKS AT THAT FINAL -- FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUY THAT MERCEDES. HE DID NOT RESPOND. HE LOOKED AT ME AND IF LOOKS COULD KILL, I WOULD NOT BE HERE. NOW, HE DID BUY EVENTUALLY A NEW VOLVO, STATION WAGON. NOW, THE OTHER PART ABOUT RAY, AS I SAID, TIME WISE AND WORK-WISE THERE REALLY WAS NOBODY THAT COULD OUTWORK HIM. HE LOVED HIS WORK. AND HE NEEDED IT, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HELP HIM VERY MUCH AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME. WHEN I SAW HIM, AND OF COURSE HE WAS RECOVERING FROM FIVE BYPASS SURGERY, APPEARED FRAIL, BUT THE COURT DIDN'T GIVE HIM ANY SLACK. HE WALKED INTO AN OFFICE THAT WAS PILED HIGH WITH PENDING FILES. THAT NEEDED VOTES, AND BY THE WAY AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME WE WERE HEARING ORAL ARGUMENTS 20 TO 22 A WEEK, BUT ALSO THERE WERE THREE CASES OR THREE CASES, TEN CASES ON WHICH THE VOTES WERE 3-3, OPINIONS ALREADY WRITTEN, DISSENTING OPINIONS ALREADY WRITTEN, HALF OF WHICH WERE DEATH CASES. HERE, JUSTICE EHRLICH, YOU CAN START ON THESE. AND THEN WE ALL FELT SORRY FOR MICKEY IN THIS REGARD. WHEN VACATION TIME CAME, FOR THE FIRST NUMBER OF YEARS THIS CHAMBERS COULD TELL HOW MANY IT WAS AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME, WE HAVEN'T GOT TIME TO TAKE A VACATION, BECAUSE I'VE GOT TO USE IT TO CATCH UP. AND HE WOULD BE THERE, AND THE ONE OTHER THING THAT I DID LOSE WHEN RAY EHRLICH CAME WAS HAVING THE MESSIEST DESK AT THE SUPREME COURT. SHORTLY AFTER HE CAME, NOT REALLY SHORTLY AFTER HE CAME MY SECRETARY WENT DOWN AND LOOKED OR DELIVERED SOMETHING TO HIM AND SAID TO ME, I THOUGHT YOUR DESK WAS BAD, BUT IT ISN'T EVEN CLOSE TO JUSTICE EHRLICH'S. I UNDERSTAND ONE OF HIS RESEARCH AIDES HAD SAID IT IS THE MESSIEST DESK IN CHRISTENDOM. NOW, HE REGULARLY USED THE TERM LITTLE LADY IN ADDRESSING PARTICULARLY HIS LAW CLERKS AND ONE OF THE FIRST CONFERENCES THAT WE HAD AFTER JUSTICE BARKETT CAME ON THE COURT I'M GOING TO LET HER EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, AND IN THE COURSE OF THE ARGUMENT, RAY SAID, LITTLE LADY, I WOULD TIGHTEN MY GRIP ON MY CONFERENCE CHAIR, AND REALLY YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THIS ABOUT HIM THAT HE HAS A WAY WITH WOMEN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT THAT PICTURE AS YOU CAME IN OF JUSTICE BARKETT AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN, BUT HE WAS ALSO, IF HE HAD A PASSION WAS, AS YOU HEARD JUSTICE HARDING SAY, HE HAD CREATED THE GENDER BIAS COMMISSION. HE HAD A PASSION FOR WOMEN'S ISSUES AND FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS. AND THEN SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE HE HAD A BIRTHDAY. SOMEBODY CAME UP WITH AN IDEA THAT HE SHOULD HAVE A NICKNAME, AND THE NICKNAME WAS THE OLD BUZZARD. SO WE HAD A BIRTHDAY PARTY, AND EVERYBODY CAME IN WITH BUTTONS THAT SAID THE OLD BUZZARD. AND I GUESS THAT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT HOW HE RELATED TO PEOPLE, BECAUSE HE HAD JUST A VERY SPECIAL WAY TO RELATE AND TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE AT ALL LEVELS. I MIGHT SAY TO YOU HE ALSO, WHILE HE WAS CHIEF JUSTICE, GOT US THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW BUILDING AND THE RENOVATION OF THIS BUILDING AND HE HAD TO USE THESE PEOPLE SKILLS TO DO THAT, BECAUSE AS A RESULT OF THE CONSTRUCTION WE MOVED FROM THE OLD BUILDING TO THE NEW BUILDING AND THEN FROM THE NEW BUILDING TO THE OLD BUILDING. AND I MIGHT SAY TO YOU, IT WAS DONE ON TIME AND UNDER CONTRACT. I WANT TO SAY ONE OTHER THING, IF I CAN. AND IN CONCLUSION, THIS SPECIAL MAN HAD A DIFFICULT TIME DURING THIS LAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS. AND INSTEAD OF BEING RELEGATED TO A NURSING HOME OR AN ASSISTED LIVING FOR DEMENTIA CARE, CAROLYN AND BRIAN BERKOWITZ AND THEIR TWO SONS BROUGHT HIM IN IN THE SAME HOUSE WHERE HE STARTED HERE, AND WITH THAT LOVING AND CARING RELATIONSHIP HE WOULD COME OUT, AND THE LAST ONE WAS THEY BROUGHT HIM TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA WHERE HE WAS RECOGNIZED LAST APRIL ON THE HERITAGE OF LEADERSHIP, AND HE JUST OPENED ON UP. DEAN JERRY CAME UP TO HIM AND I WAS STANDING BY HIM AND TALKING TO HIM AND HE WAS IN THE WHEELCHAIR, AND DEAN JERRY SAID, AND HE WAS SAYING, WELL, WE HAVE JUSTICE OVERTON HERE NOW TEACHING ON OUR FACULTY, AND RAY LOOKED AT ME, AND THEN I SAW THAT TWINKLE IN HIS EYE AND I SAID WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. AND HE LOOKED AT THE DEAN AND HE SAID, WHO IS TEACHING HIM? THIS IS A SPECIAL MAN WHO CONTRIBUTED MIGHTILY TO THE LAWS OF THIS STATE, AND THE INTEGRITY, REPUTATION OF THIS COURT. I THINK MUCH OF HIS LEGACY IS LIVING ON AND OF COURSE WITH THE CONTRIBUTION HE HAS MADE HE IS TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT LEGACY IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND THE PRESERVATION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS WILL CONTINUE. THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ]

THANK YOU, JUSTICE OVERTON. THE COURT NOW RECOGNIZES THE HONORABLE ROSEMARY BARKETT OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR REMARKS, AND WE KNOW, OF COURSE, THAT ROSEMARY AND RAY SHARED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AND MOST OF US WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT DOES APPEAR OUT IN THE HALLWAY, AND A PHOTOGRAPH THAT RAY KEPT BY HIS SIDE DURING HIS LAST YEARS AND IN THE LAST VISIT THAT I HAD WITH RAY AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT, AND IT BROUGHT -- HE STARTED LAUGHING WHEN HE LOOKED AT THAT PHOTOGRAPH. SO I KNOW IT CONTINUED TO BRING HIM GREAT JOY. JUSTICE BARKETT.

THANK YOU, JUSTICE PARIENTE. I HAVE TWO HUGE REGRETS THIS MORNING. ONE THAT RAY IS NOT HERE TO HEAR ALL OF THE FUNNY STORIES ABOUT HIM, BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE LOVED BEING REMINDED OF THEM, AND I HAVE TO ALSO SAY HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE WAIVED OFF ALL OF THE LAUDITORY STUFF AND SECOND THAT MICKEY IS NOT HERE TO BASK IN THE LOVE THAT WE ALL HAD FOR RAY BECAUSE SHE WOULD HAVE LOVED THAT. I DID LOVE RAY. I LOVED RAY FOR A LOT OF REASONS. AT RAY'S INTERRMENT SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE, STEVE GRIMES QUOTED FROM A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE WHEN RAY BECAME CHIEF I THINK IT WAS IN WHICH I RESPONDED TO THE REPORTER'S QUESTION OF WHAT CAME IMMEDIATELY TO MIND WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT RAY EHRLICH, AND I WAS QUOTED IN THE ARTICLE AND STEVE QUOTED IT THEN AS SAYING THAT RAY MADE ME LAUGH, AND WHILE I WAS STANDING AT THE GRAVE SIDE I HAVE TO CONFESS THAT I WONDERED WHY I WOULD HAVE SAID THAT INSTEAD OF SOMETHING ELSE. FOR EXAMPLE I COULD HAVE SAID THAT HE WAS ONE OF THE SMARTEST JUDGES ON THE COURT BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER HIS TENURE. I COULD HAVE SAID AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, HOW HE LOVED THE CONSTITUTION AND HOW HE WAS ALWAYS VIGILANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF CITIZENS WERE PROTECTED AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT WAS TO OUR CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM. I COULD HAVE SAID, AS OTHERS HAVE, SOMETHING ABOUT HOW HARD HE WORKED NOT IN THE SENSE THAT HE PUT IN A LOT OF HOURS, WHICH OF COURSE AS YOU KNOW IS LEGENDARY ABOUT RAY, BUT OTHERS PUT IN A LOT OF HOURS. A LOT OF PEOPLE SPEND A LOT OF HOURS WORKING, BUT RAY'S HOURS WERE SPENT DIGGING AS DEEP AS WAS POSSIBLE INTO THE FACTS OF A CASE AND AS DEEP AND AS FAR BACK AS WAS POSSIBLE INTO THE RATIONALE OF THE RELEVANT CASE LAW TO BE SURE THAT HE THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, WHY HE FELT THAT THE LAW REQUIRED THE RESULT HE REACHED, AND WHAT THE RAMIFICATIONS OF HIS DECISION WOULD BE. WHEN HE DECIDED THAT AN ERROR WAS HARMLESS IN A CASE, I COULD RELY ON THE FACT THAT RAY EHRLICH HAD READ THE ENTIRE RECORD TO ASSURE HIMSELF THAT IT WAS SO. NOT A PART OF THE RECORD, NOT A PART OF THE BRIEF RELATING TO THE RECORD, BUT THE ENTIRE RECORD TO MEASURE THE HARM AS THE LAW REQUIRED HIM TO DO. RAY HAD COME FROM WHAT I WOULD TEASINGLY TO HIM CALL A HIGH FALUTANT LAW FIRM IN JACKSONVILLE AND I WOULD MARVEL AT HOW HE COULD WITH HIS BACKGROUND PUT HIMSELF IN THE PLACE OF EACH PARTY TO A LAWSUIT TO UNDERSTAND THEIR POINT OF VIEW. HE COULD UNDERSTAND THE ARGUMENT OF AN ARRESTEE CLAIMING ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF THE POLICE, AND HE COULD UNDERSTAND A POLICEMAN'S ARGUMENT OF FALSE CLAIMS MADE AGAINST THEM. HE COULD SEE HOW A COMPANY OR BUSINESSMAN MIGHT FEEL AGGRIEVED AND UNDERSTAND THE FEELINGS OF A SINGLE SHAREHOLDER OR A DEBTOR OR THAT OF SOMEONE WHO WAS POOR AND ONCE UNDERSTANDING THE CLAIMS HE WOULD NEUTRALLY WITH NO PRIOR LEANING IN ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER GAUGE THE LEGAL MERIT OF THE CLAIM BY READING CAREFULLY ALL OF THE FACTS AND THE APPLICABLE LAW. SO OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT I COULD HAVE SAID ABOUT WHAT A GREAT JURIST HE WAS, AND AND WHAT AN IMPORTANT MAN HE HAD BEEN WHO HAD GIVEN UP A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN ORDER TO GIVE BACK TO THE STATE THAT HE LOVED, WHY WOULD I SAY THAT HE MAKES ME LAUGH? AND I THINK AFTER GIVING IT SOME MORE THOUGHT, THAT THE COMMENT ENCOMPASSES NOT ONLY THE GREAT JURIST THAT HE WAS BUT THE GREAT MAN THAT HE WAS. HE MADE ME LAUGH FOR A LOT OF REASONS. OF COURSE, THE MOST OBVIOUS ARE HIS VERY FAMOUS JOKES, AND I HAVE TO -- I AM HERE TO ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT HE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO GENDER BIAS IN TERMS OF WHO HE CHOSE TO TELL HIS JOKES TO. I DO NOT REMEMBER JOKES. I NEVER REMEMBER JOKES THAT PEOPLE TELL ME, BUT I DO REMEMBER SOME OF JUSTICE EHRLICH'S JOKES AND I STRUGGLED ABOUT WHETHER I SHOULD RELATE ONE OR TWO TO YOU. EVEN RAY WOULD NOT TELL ONE OF HIS JOKES IN THIS SETTING, SO I WILL REFRAIN. SECOND, HE MADE ME LAUGH BECAUSE OF HIS ENDEARING^NAIVITY OF SOME ASPECTS OF LIFE. HE WAS EXTREMELY NAIVE. I REMEMBER MANY TIMES TALKING ABOUT THIS MOVIE STAR AND THAT MOVIE STAR AND RAY HAD NO IDEA WHO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT. I REMEMBER VERY SPECIFICALLY BEING SUED WHEN THE COURT WAS SUED ON OCCASION. THIS PARTICULAR SUIT WAS BROUGHT BY A LAWYER WHO HAD BEEN DISBARRED. UNFORTUNATELY THIS PARTICULAR LAWYER HAD SUCCOMBED TO THE STRESS OF LIFE AND THE STRESSES OF LIFE AND HAD DONE SOME MENTALLY IMBALANCED THINGS, INCLUDING SUING US, BUT --

WE HAVE SOME MORE OF THOSE TODAY.

YES. I HAPPEN TO HAVE WRITTEN THE OPINION DISBARRING HIM AND HE SUED US IN FEDERAL COURT AND I HAVE A VERY CLEAR RECOLLECTION OF RAY COMING INTO MY OFFICE WAIVING THE COMPLAINT AND SAYING, BARKETT, YOU'VE REALLY GOTTEN US IN TROUBLE NOW, AND HE READ ME THE CAPTION WHICH WAS SO AND SO AND SO AND SO THE PLAINTIFF, THE DISBARRED LAWYER, SUES BEN OVERTON, RAY EHRLICH AND HE NAMED EVERY MEMBER OF THE COURT AND THEN ATLANTA AT THE END HE ADDED AND THAT BIMBO BARKETT. HE IS UP THERE LAUGHING. BUT THAT WAS NOT THE UPSHOT. THE UPSHOT WAS WHEN HE SAT DOWN AND HE SAID, WHAT'S A BIMBO? I SAID, RAY, I THINK IT IS TOO LATE TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU NOW. I REMEMBER HE WAS A WONDERFUL CHIEF JUSTICE DURING THE RENOVATIONS OF THE BUILDING AND I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO WORK WITH HIM WHEN HE PUT ME IN CHARGE OF BEING THE LIAISON PERSON WORKING ON THE CONSTRUCTION, AND HE WAS WONDERFULLY DIFFERENTIAL BUT AT THE SAME TIME TOOK A REAL HAND IN EVERYTHING THAT WAS BEING DONE. I HAVE A VERY CLEAR RECOLLECTION THAT AT SOME POINT RICK BARNETT AND I HAVE A VERY CLEAR RECOLLECTION THERE ARE CIRCLES AT THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING BUT AT SOME POINT DURING THE PROCESS WE THOUGHT THAT PERHAPS BRINGING OUT THE CIRCLES WITH RED MIGHT GIVE THE COURT SOME MORE STATELY AND ATTRACTIVE PRESENCE, AND SO WHILE I WAS AT THE JUDICIAL COLLEGE RICK BARNETT HAD THOSE CIRCLES PAINTED RED AND I REMEMBER GETTING A CALL AT 6:30 IN THE MORNING AWAKENED WITH THE THING ABOUT LITTLE LADY BY THE WAY, I DO HAVE TO STOP FOR A SECOND TO SAY RAY TRIED REALLY HARD NOT TO DO THAT AND HE WOULD GENERALLY DO IT WHEN HE WAS BEING REALLY EARNEST SO HE WOULD NOT JUST SAY IT WILLY NILLY. IT WAS WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO BE VERY EARNEST AND TRYING TO CONVEY SOMETHING THAT HE WOULD SAY, LADY LITTLE. I SAY HOLEO, AND HE SAID LITTLE LADY, AND I THOUGHT OH, NO, SOMETHING SERIOUS IS HAPPENING. HE SAID I CAME TO WORK THIS MORNING, AND THE COURT LOOKS LIKE A CIRCUS. YOU CAN'T MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE THAT RED STUFF ON THE FRONT. I SAID, NO, NO, WE WERE JUST TRYING IT. I HAD FORTUNATELY TALKED TO RICK AND WE HAD BOTH DECIDED THAT IT WASN'T GOING TO WORK, BUT IT WAS A GOOD TRY AT THE TIME. HE MADE ME LAUGH BECAUSE HE LAUGHED AT HIMSELF. AND HE LAUGHED AT US, AND HE MADE OURSELVES LAUGH AT OURSELVES. HE WOULD TELL YOU PROBABLY TELL YOU THAT BENNY TALKED TOO LONG. TELL ME TO SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN. HE WOULD NEVER SAY SHUT UP. HE WAS A GENTLEMAN ALWAYS. BUT THERE WAS NOT AN OUNCE OF POMPOUSNESS IN HIM. HE ALWAYS MADE FUN OF THE TRAPPINGS OF ONE'S OFFICE. AS RECENTLY AS MAYBE SIX MONTHS OR SO BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY, I CALLED HIM AT HIS HOME DURING THE DAY, AND HE WOULD ANSWER THE PHONE THE SAME WAY HE ALWAYS ANSWERED THE PHONE WHEN I CALLED. OH, MY GOD. OH, MY GOD, A FEDERAL JUDGE IS CALLING ME ON THE PHONE. OH, DEAR GOODNESS. I MEAN, BARKETT, YOU ARE STILL WORKING? YOU HAVE TIME TO CALL ME? THAT'S AMAZING. I MEAN, JUST RIDICULOUS. I REMEMBER ALL OF THOSE WONDERFUL STORIES ABOUT THE UNDERSHORTS. I REMEMBER THE STORIES OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTIES AND IT HAS BEEN A REAL JOY TO KIND OF LISTEN TO EVERYBODY SPEAK AND REMEMBER BACK AT WHAT A WONDERFUL AND HUMANE MAN RAY EHRLICH WAS. THE PICTURE I REMEMBER ALSO VERY DISTINCTLY. WE WERE, OF COURSE, GATHERED TOGETHER IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION WHERE THEY TAKE THE COURT PICTURE AND THEY HAD GENERALLY BEEN VERY FORMAL AFFAIRS AND WE WERE ALL LAUGHING AND SMILING, AND RAY EHRLICH WAS SAYING SOMETHING LIKE, WELL, WHERE SHOULD WE SIT? AND I SAID, BEING VERY FLIPPANT AND I'VE TRIED TO GET BETTER. I HAVEN'T SUCCEEDED TOO WELL, BUT AT ANY RATE I SAID OH, I SHOULD JUST SIT ON YOUR LAP AND WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT HE CALLED MY BLUFF AND SAID, COME ON, AND OF COURSE I WASN'T ABOUT TO BE OUTBLUFFED. SO I DID, AND OF COURSE IT IS ONE OF THE WONDERFUL MEMORIES THAT I HAVE OF THIS COURT BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE YOU WILL SEE PARKER LEE LAUGHING LIKE CRAZY AND BEN LAUGHING LIKE CRAZY, AND RAY LAUGHING. IT WAS A WONDERFUL MOMENT WHICH REFLECTED THE COLLEGIALITY OF THAT PARTICULAR COURT AND I GIVE CREDIT TO EVERY MEMBER OF THAT COURT FOR A VERY, VERY WONDERFUL TENURE. HE DID MAKE ME LAUGH A LOT. AS A GENTLEMAN, AND A GENTLE MAN HE MADE ME LOVE HIM A LOT AND AS A JUDGE AND A HUMAN BEING HE MADE ME VERY PROUD. [ APPLAUSE ]

WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON THE CEREMONY, WE ASKED JUSTICE EHRLICH'S FAMILY IF ONE OF ITS MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF, AND BEFORE CALLING UP GERALD BETTMAN, BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH REFERENCE TO THE LOVING FAMILY THAT JUSTICE EHRLICH ACQUIRED SOMEWHAT LATE IN LIFE, AND THE AMAZING COMPASSION AND LOVE THAT THEY SHOWED TO HIM IN HIS LAST YEARS, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE FAMILY JUST STAND UP AND BE RECOGNIZED. [ APPLAUSE ]

AND NOW IF I COULD CALL ON GERALD BETTMAN TO MAKE REMARKS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY.

MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FRIENDS, FAMILY, SO NICE OF ME TO GET THIS HONOR, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY. SOME OF YOU ALL ARE RIGHT, RAY WOULD JUST LOVE ANOTHER BIG PARTY, AND SOME OF YOU ALL ARE RIGHT HE IS ALSO VERY SHY AND HUMBLE AND THIS COULD EMBARRASS HIM A LITTLE BIT. HE ALWAYS CALLED HIMSELF THE INSIDE MAN WHEN HE WORKED WITH JACK MATTHEWS AT THE MATTHEWS OSBORNE FIRM. HE SAID JACK MATTHEWS HAD THE ABILITY TO GO OUT THERE AND BRING IN THE BUSINESS BUT HE WAS THE OUTSIDE AND RAY EHRLICH -- EHRLICH WAS THE INSIDE MAN. HE DIDN'T LOOK FOR THE LIME LIGHT OR THE SPOTLIGHT AND HE ENJOYED A SIMILAR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHESTERFIELD SMITH WHEN HE WAS WORKING WITH HOLLAND KNIGHT. OTHER PEOPLE GOT TO BRING IN THE BUSINESS. I DON'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE ANY TROUBLE BRINGING IN THE BUSINESS WITH THE SUPREME COURT. THEY DIDN'T NEED AN OUTSIDE AND EVERYBODY WAS THE INSIDE BUT RAY WOULD GET EMBARRASSED WHEN HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATTENTION. I THINK HE TOLD HIS JOKES ON THE SIDE AND HE HAD CAMARADERIE WITH EVERYBODY ON THE SIDE OF THE PARTIES. BUT I REMEMBER HOW EMBARRASSED HE SEEMED TO BE ONE TIME WHEN HE WAS ASKED TO DO THE DEDICATION OF THE OLD HOME IN RIVER GARDENS IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, AND HE WAS CHIEF JUSTICE AND HE WAS PROUD TO DO THIS OPENING DEDICATION, AND BEFORE HE GOT UP THERE WHOEVER WAS INTRODUCING HIM SAID WE ARE SO HONORED TO HAVE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT AND CHIEF RAYMOND EHRLICH IS HERE AND WE ARE SO HAPPY THAT HE HAS A SPEECH FOR US AND WE ARE SO HAPPY HE IS HERE. THE CHIEF JUSTICE IS WONDERFUL, THIS AND THAT AND RAY FELT A LITTLE FUNNY AND HE GOT UP THERE AND HE SAYS THIS REMINDS ME OF THE STORY OF THE PET STORE WHEN THE LADY WALKED IN LOOKING FOR A LITTLE EXOTIC BIRD, AND THE PET STORE OWNER SAID, I'VE GOT ONE OVER HERE, A PARROT WHO SPEAKS 20, 30 WORDS IN ENGLISH, $500. THE LADY SAID, WELL, HAVE YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE? I'VE GOT THIS BIRD OVER HERE. THIS BIRD SPEAKS THREE LANGUAGE ISSUES, THAT'S A THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND THE PERSON SAID HAVE YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE? THE PET STORE OWNER SAYS I'VE GOT THIS BIRD OVER HERE AND HE WILL COST YOU $5,000 AND HE SAYS, WELL, HOW MANY LANGUAGES DOES THAT BIRD SPEAK? THAT BIRD DOESN'T SAY A WORD, BUT THE OTHER TWO BIRDS CALL HIM CHIEF. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHEN RAY IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH ONE OF THESE WORDS, BUT I THINK THAT TELLS US SOMETHING TODAY ABOUT RAY. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO YOU, THAT WHAT HE FELT LIKE WAS THAT THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM WERE SPECIAL. I THINK HE TRULY FELT THAT WAY, MOM AND RAY ALWAYS FELT THAT WAY. HIS FRIENDS, THE YOUNG LAWYERS THAT WORKED WITH HIM, HE ALWAYS FELT THEY WERE SPECIAL AND, YOU KNOW, LAWYERS FROM JACKSONVILLE AND JUDGES NOW TELL ME, BOY, YOU EITHER MADE IT OR YOU WERE OUT THE DOOR PRETTY QUICK WITH RAY EHRLICH AND THOSE THAT STAYED WITH HIM BECAME FABULOUS LAWYERS AND HE DID SURROUND HIMSELF WITH SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT MATTHEWS LAW FIRM. LATER ON WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE COURT AND BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JACK MATTHEWS WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA STATE SENATE MATTHEWS WROTE A NEW CONSTITUTION BACK IN '68, AND RAY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, BUT HE WASN'T OUT FRONT AND HE DIDN'T ASK FOR ALL OF THAT BUT HE LOVED THE PEOPLE HE WAS WITH AND THE PEOPLE HE SURROUNDED WITH, YOU PEOPLE, AND HE FELT VERY SPECIAL THAT THEY ADMIRED HIM. WHEN HE REALLY ADMIRED YOU. YOU ALWAYS LEARN SOMETHING FROM HIM, AND HE ALWAYS LEARNED SOMETHING FROM YOU. AND HE WAS ALWAYS PROUD ABOUT THAT. HE WOULD ALWAYS COME BACK AND MOM AND RAY WOULD COME BACK FROM THEIR WEEKEND MEETINGS AND THEY WOULD TELL ME JUST HOW WONDERFUL AND HOW SMART THIS LAWYER WAS. I'M TRYING TO TELL THEM WHAT I DID THAT WEEK AND THEY COULDN'T QUIT TELLING ME ABOUT THESE OTHER LAWYERS WHO WERE SO SPECIAL. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE HE NOW CALLS FRIENDS AND YOU PEOPLE HERE TODAY. IN THE FAMILY AND THE FRIENDS, HE REALLY ADMIRED YOU ALL BEING AROUND HIM AND MAKING HIM FEEL SPECIAL. HE LOVED THE MEALS AT YOUR HOMES. HE LOVED THE MEALS GOING OUT WITH YOU ALL. HE LOVED THE CAMARADERIE AT THE PARTIES. I REMEMBER BEFORE HE WENT TO TALLAHASSEE HE TOLD MY MOM, HE SAID NOW WE ARE GOING TO GO TO TALLAHASSEE AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A PARTY EVERY NIGHT. WE CAN'T MAKE EVERY ONE. I DON'T THINK HE EVER MISSED ONE, BUT I REMEMBER HIM TELLING MOM ABOUT THAT. NOW, I WANT TO STRAIGHTEN, HE LOVED THE RECREATION, HE LOVED THE SOCIALIZING, AND I SAY TO YOU THAT THESE WEEKENDS WITH YOU, THESE NIGHTS, THEY GOT HIM READY IN BETWEEN THE ROUNDS OF HIS FIGHTS. THEY REFRESHED HIM. YOU ALL WERE LIKE CORNER PEOPLE FOR HIM. YOU MADE HIM FEEL GOOD AND YOU GOT HIM REFRESHED FOR MONDAY MORNING AND WHAT HE HAD TO DO. I WANT TO TELL YOU, ABOUT MOM'S RELATIONSHIP WITH RAY. HE WASN'T SO SURE HE WAS READY TO BE A FATHER. HE WASN'T READY -- HE WASN'T SURE ABOUT MICKEY'S CHILDREN. BUT HE NEEDED MOM. HE NEEDED MOM BAD. SHE HAD THE UNBELIEVEABLE MEMORY OF EVERYBODY'S NAMES, EVERYBODY'S PHONE NUMBERS, THE ABILITY TO TELL RAY OUT OF THE SIDE OF HER MOUTH THEY'VE GOT THREE CHILDREN, LISA, JOHN AND SUSAN. SHE MADE HIM LOOK GOOD AND HE KNOWS THAT, BECAUSE, AGAIN, HE ALWAYS SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE. ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO I WAS AT A CONFERENCE AND I AM WITH 800 LAWYERS GETTING RECERTIFIED IN MEDIATION AND THERE IS AN OLDER LAWYER NEXT TO ME ABOUT FIVE YEARS YOUNGER THAN RAY AND THEY MENTIONED RAY ABOUT THAT HE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE MEDIATION PROCESS BACK IN '86, '87 AND THEY MENTIONED RAY'S NAME AND THIS OLDER LAWYER WHISPERS OVER TO ME AND HE SAYS I WAS A FRIEND OF RAY EHRLICH'S. I THOUGHT THAT WAS GOOD, AND THEN HE WHISPERS TO ME HE MARRIED A WONDERFUL WOMAN MICKEY AND THEN I REALIZED HE KNEW HER AND THEN HE SAID SHE KEPT A KOSIER HOME. I REALLY KNEW THIS PERSON. THIS PERSON REALLY KNEW MOM AND RAY. THEN HE WHISPERED, SHE HAD SIX OR SEVEN CHILDREN. SHE ADOPTED THEM ALL. I SAID, WELL, WAIT A MINUTE. THERE WAS ONLY FOUR OF US, JACK, ZELDA, CAROL AND MYSELF AND WE WEREN'T ADOPTED. HE SAID, I DON'T THINK SO. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS SAYING ABOUT US, BUT I KNOW HE ALWAYS HAD VERY GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU ALL. HE ALWAYS-HE AND MOM TOLD US HOW EVERYBODY, ALL OF HIS FRIENDS ACROSS THE STATE OF FLORIDA GOING ALL OF THE WAY UP TO WASHINGTON, HOW YOU ENRICHED THEIR LIVES. YOU MADE IT WORTHWHILE. YOU REFRESHED THEM OVER THE HARD WORK THAT MOM AND RAY DID, AND HE ALWAYS FELT AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ONCE ABOUT HOW THESE PEOPLE THAT HE KEPT AROUND HIM WERE HIS CORNER MEN. THEY KEPT HIM READY BETWEEN ROUNDS, WHEN HE GOES BACK OUT, AND WE ARE GOING ALL OF THE WAY BACK TO HIS EARLY DAY IN THE LAW FIRM OF MATTHEWS OSBORNE. HE LOVED HIS CORNER PEOPLE. CORNER PEOPLE CAN'T WIN THE FIGHT, BUT THEY SURE CAN MESS YOU UP. YOU KNOW, ONLY THE FIGHTER CAN WIN, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GOOD CORNER YOU CAN LOSE EASILY BECAUSE OF A BAD CORNER PERSON. I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THE FIRST TIME I WANTED TO BRING RAY INTO MY CORNER IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL NIGHT FOR ME. I HAD MY FIRST TRIAL AND, IN ORDER TO GET TO RAY ON THE HOME SIDE IT WAS A LITTLE HARDER I THINK THAN OUT IN THE PUBLIC BUT I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL HE FINISHED HIS DINNER, HE READ A COUPLE OF PERIODICALS, THIS WAS SUNDAY NIGHT AND HE WENT THROUGH HIS PERIODICALS AND THEN HE GOT HIS DEPOSITIONS READY AND HIS DEPOSITIONS GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT DAY, AND HE READS THEM UP UNTIL MIDNIGHT, AND I JUST WAS WAITING PATIENTLY TO GO OVER THE FACTS OF MY FIRST CASE WITH HIM. I COULDN'T WAIT TO HAVE RAY EHRLICH IN MY CORNER. SO I SAT DOWN WITH HIM AT THE DINNER TABLE. EVERYBODY IS GONE AND I WENT OVER THE FACTS WITH RAY AND HE LISTENED FOR TEN MINUTES. NEVER SAID A WORD AND HE LOOKED AT ME, AND HE SAID, JERRY, ARE YOU PREPARED? YES, SIR. I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU DO. HE SAID, HERE I AM ABOUT TO GET THE WISDOM I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR FOR 15, 18 YEARS. I'M WAITING FOR THE LAWYER TO LAWYER WISDOM WITH RAY. I WAS GOING TO LEARN SOMETHING FROM HIM. HE SAID ARE YOU READY? I SAID YES, SIR. HE SAID YOU GO THERE TOMORROW MORNING AND YOU TELL THEM TO QUIT PEAING ON YOUR ANKLE AND TELL YOU IT IS RAINING. I WAS STUNNED. I'M THINKING THIS IS HOW YOU PRACTICE LAW. HE ALWAYS HAD THE ABILITY TO SIZE UP THE SITUATION. AND LET YOU KNOW, BUT I FELT EMPOWERED. YOU JUST FELT EMPOWERED WITH HIM GIVING YOU INSIDE INFORMATION TO PRACTICING LAW. OVER THE YEARS HE HAS HELPED ME IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SITUATIONS AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A FEW OF THEM I THOUGHT ABOUT. HE ALWAYS TOLD ME, I REMEMBER HE SAID THERE ARE THREE SPEECHES YOU ALWAYS GIVE, THE ONE YOU PREPARE, THE ONE YOU GIVE, THE ONE YOU WISH YOU GAVE. SO A LOT OF LAWYERS GET WORRIED ABOUT GOING UP AND HE ALWAYS I REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME WHEN I HAD A PROBLEM, HE THAT THE GODS DESTROY WILL FIRST MAKE ANGRY, AND THAT HELPED ME A LOT OF TIMES. HE TOLD ME ONCE BUT THIS WASN'T ABOUT ME, BUT THICK POCKETERS SHOULDN'T BRAG. THAT COMES UP A LOT IN LIFE. THAT WASN'T DIRECTED AT ME. HE ALSO TOLD ME ONE TIME, I CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING NEW IF I AM TALKING. BECAUSE I USED TO ALWAYS ASK WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET? HE SAID I CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING NEW WHEN I AM TALKING. DON'T USE YOUR RACE HORSE TO PLOW YOUR FIELD. HE ALSO SAID THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE GOOD NONSENSE. HE LEARNED THAT WAY BEFORE HE TALKED TO THEM. I THINK HE DIRECTED THAT TO ME. AND JUSTICE OVERTON HE ALSO TOLD ME THE STORY ABOUT THE MOUSE AND THE MERCEDES AND I CAN'T SHARE THAT HERE. YOU KNOW, AS YOU ALL KNOW, RAY NEVER SAID HELLO. IT WAS ALWAYS EHRLICH HERE AND HE'S NEVER SAID GOOD-BYE. HE JUST HUNG UP WHEN THE CONVERSATION WAS OVER. A LOT OF TIMES I'M STILL SITTING THERE TALKING TO HIM. HE IS GONE. YOU ARE STILL TALKING AND HE IS HUNG UP. HE'S HAD ENOUGH TO SAY. BUT ALSO AND IT IS FUNNY BECAUSE BILL GRAESSLE AND I MUST BE BROTHERS, BUT HE ALSO I REMEMBER AT JACK MATTHEWS' FUNERAL HE MADE A WONDERFUL SPEECH AND AT THE END HE DIDN'T WANT TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO JACK MATTHEWS BUT AGAIN HE SAID, JACK, YOU DONE GOOD, AND HE USED THE SAME WORDS THERE AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO RAY THAT YOU WERE AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL, YOU HELPED US ALL AND WE WILL ALL VERY MUCH MISS YOU SO ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY, JACK, ZELDA, CAROL AND MYSELF AND ALL OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING HERE. FOR BEING IN MOM'S CORNER, MOM'S RACE CORNER, FOR BEING THEIR DEAR FRIENDS AND MAKING THEIR LIVES SO COMPLETE WITH YOUR FRIENDSHIP. THANK YOU AGAIN. [ APPLAUSE ]

SOME OF MY CONCLUDING REMARKS ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT HIS WORK IN TERMS OF THE GENDER BIAS COMMISSION AND THAT WAS MENTIONED BY JUSTICE HARDING, AND IT WAS TOLD THAT WHEN HE GAVE A PRESS CONFERENCE TO RELEASE THE GENDER BIAS STUDY COMMISSION THAT THE REPORTERS THERE ASKED HIM IF HE HIMSELF HAD EVER PRACTICED ANY GENDER BIAS, AND HE THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT AND THEN HE SAID, WELL, I GUESS THE FACT THAT I CALL MY JUDICIAL ASSISTANT LITTLE LADY WOULD BE THAT TYPE OF GENDER BIAS BEHAVIOR AND THE REPORTERS LOVED THAT. NOW I REALIZE THAT MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE HE KEPT ON FORGETTING HER NAME. AND IT WAS ALSO REPUTED THAT WHEN JUSTICE BARKETT FIRST CAME ON THE COURT, OF COURSE AT THAT POINT THIS WAS DEFINITELY A PROFESSION THAT WAS DOMINATED BY MEN AND JUSTICE BARKETT, OF COURSE, CAME AT THE TIME WHEN THERE WERE TWO REST ROOMS THAT WERE -- ONE WAS LABELED JUSTICES AND THE OTHER LADIES. THAT QUICKLY WAS CORRECTED BY YOU, BUT WHEN YOU HIRED A MALE LAW CLERK, HE CAME OVER TO THE MALE LAW CLERK AND SAID HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STAND WORKING IN THAT ROOM FULL OF LADIES? SO WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER, YOU KNOW, HOW HE LEARNED ABOUT ELIMINATING GENDER BIAS, BUT THE FIRST TIME THAT I MET HIM WAS WHEN I WAS STILL A LAWYER AND I WAS WORKING ON JUSTICE BARKETT'S MERIT RETENTION CAMPAIGN AND JUSTICE EHRLICH WAS RETIRED AND I HAD DONE A LOT OF WORK TO ORGANIZE THIS EVENT IN TAMPA, AND I WENT OVER AND I INTRODUCED MYSELF TO HIM, AND HE SAID YOU ARE BARBARA PARIENTE, HE SAID? I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE AN AMAZON. THE AMOUNT OF WORK YOU DID WOULD HAVE TO BE AN AMAZON THAT DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO HE MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN THE WORD BIMBO, BUT HE SURE KNEW THE WORD AMAZON. SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS OVER AND THEN HE ENDED UP INTRODUCING ME TO THE AUDIENCE AND HE SAID I'M ABOUT TO INTRODUCE BARBARA PARIENTE AND I THINK YOU WOULD ALL LIKE TO KNOW HER. SHE IS AN AMAZON. WELL, I HAVE DECIDED OVER THE YEARS, BECAUSE I CERTAINLY REMINDED HIM OF THAT STORY OVER AND OVER AND HE NEVER FORGOT THAT, THAT IF I WERE AN AMAZON HE WAS A GIANT. HE WAS A TRUE GIANT IN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY, IN THE JUSTICE COMMUNITY, AND IN THE COMMUNITY OF HUMANKIND, AND I THINK THAT THIS CEREMONY TODAY WAS JUST SUCH A FITTING TRIBUTE TO HIM, AND AS SO MANY OF YOU SAID, ONE THAT HE WOULD HAVE LOVED, AND HE LEAVES US WITH SUCH A RICH LEGACY, A LEGACY OF A GREAT LIFE AND A GREAT LOVE OF LAW, BUT MOST OF ALL A GREAT LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE. WITH THAT, THE COURT WILL BE IN RECESS, AND ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY I INVITE YOU ALL TO A RECEPTION IN THE ROTUNDA AND THE LIBRARY WHERE WE CAN CONTINUE TO REMINISCE ABOUT THE LIFE OF JUSTICE RAYMOND EHRLICH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THE COURT IS NOW IN RECESS.

THE MARSHAL: PLEASE RISE.