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

CHIEF JUSTICE: ACTUALLY I WAS GOING TO ASK EVERYONE TO REMAIN STANDING , BUT NOWTHAT YOU HAVE AS SEATED, ILL ASK FOR THE -- I WILL ASK FOR THE REVEREND ROBERT COON TO COME UP AND GIVE THE INVOCATION.

LET US PRAY. ALMIGHTY GOD , WE COME THIS DAY TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE , THE LIFE OF YOUR FAITHFUL SERVANT , RICHARD W ERVIN , WHO THROUGH THE SERVICE OF HIS LIFE , DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY, AND THE FURTHERANCE OF JUSTICE AND PEACE , WE SEE THE EVER PRESENT DIVINE GUIDANCE OF YOUR MIGHTY HAND. WE PRAY NOW, THAT HAVING OPENED TO HIM THE GATES OF LARGER LIFE, THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE HIM MORE AND MORE INTO YOUR JOYFUL SERVICE , WITH ALL WHO HAVE FAITHFULLY SERVED YOU IN THE PAST , WHERE H E MAY SERVE IN THE ETERNAL VICTORY OF JESUS CHRIST . WE SHARE IN THE ETERNAL GRACE OF HIS FAMILY AND TO ALL WHO HAVE GATHERED HERE. WE SEEM TO GIVE HIM BACK TO YOU , LORD , AS YOU GAVE HIMTO US. AS YOU DID NOT LOSE HIM IN GIVING, SURELY WE HAVE NOT LOST HIM IN HIS RETURN. YOU DID NOT GIVE AS THE WORLD GIVES , LOVER OF SOULS , FOR WHAT YOU GIVE IS OURS I F WE ARE YOURS . LIFE IS ETERNAL AND DEATH IS IMMORTAL AND DEATH IS A HORIZON , SIMPLY THE LIMIT OF OUR SIGHT. LIFT US UP, THAT WE MAY SEE FURTHER.CLEANSE OUR EYES , THAT WE MAY SEE MORE CLEARLY. THAT WE MAY SEE YOUR HAND AT WORK IN THE WORLD ABOUT US. BLESS US TODAY , WITH YOUR PRESENCE , AS WE WELCOME YOUINTO THIS TIME OF REMEMBRANCE , AND IN THE HOLY NAME OF YOUR SON JESUS CHRIST , AMEN.

CHIEF JUSTICE: MAYBE IT WAS BETTER THAT WE DIDN'T REMAIN STANDING. WELCOME , FAMILY , FRIENDS , AND ADMIRERS OF JUSTICE ERVIN , AND WELCOME TO THE SUPREME COURT , WHERE TODAY WE SIT IN CEREMONIAL SESSION, TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF A REMARKABLE FLORIDIAN , JUSTICE RICHARD W ERVIN , ONE OF FLORIDA'S GREAT PUBLIC SERVANTS AND ONE OF THE GREATEST JUSTICES OF THE 20th CENTURY. MANY OF US GATHER HER E TODAY IN THIS COURTROOM AND W E ATTENDED THE FUNERAL FOR JUSTICE ERVIN , BUT I T IS SO FITTING THAT TODAY WE HONOR HIM IN THIS COURTROOM , WHERE HE SERVED AS JUSTICE AND CHIEF JUSTICE WITH SUCH DISTINCTION, AND ALSO I AM PLEASED TO SAY THAT THESEPROCEEDINGS ARE BEING TELEVISED LIVE ON THE FLORIDA CHANNEL AND ON THE INTERNET, SO THAT MANY THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND INDEED THROUGHOUT THIS NATION, CAN LEARN ABOUT THE LIFE OF THIS LIVING , THIS PERSON WHO WAS A LIVING LEGEND AND NOW IS A HERO TO ALL OF US HERE. TO ME AS A YOUNG LAWYER BEGINNING PRACTICE IN FLORIDA IN 1973 , JUSTICE ERVIN WAS ALWAYS LARGER THAN LIFE , A TRUE HERO , A CHAMPION OF THE UNDERDOG , A MAN O F GREAT COURAGE. I REMEMBER BEING I N AWE OF HIM , WHEN H E FINALLY MET HIM IN PERSON AT THE RETIREMENT CEREMONY FOR OUR FORMER CLERK OF COURT SID WHITE. HE WAS ALWAYS HUMBLE AND I WAS PLEASE ED TO MEET HIM ANDI WAS SOMEWHAT SPEECHLESS. JUSTICE ERVIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY JUDICIAL HEROES. I SEE OUR PRESENT ATTORNEY GENERAL CHARLIE CRIST AND I KNOW THAT OUR FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL ROBERT BUTTERWORTH SPOKE AT JUSTICE ERVIN'S FUNERAL, AND I KNOW YOU WILL HEAR IN DETAIL FROM SOME OF THE SPEAKERS TODAY , BUT FOR US HERE JUSTICE ERVIN WILL ALWAYS B E REMEMBERED FOR HIS COURAGEOUS STAND ON SCHOOL DESEGREGATION.BECAUSE OF HIM , FLORIDA AVOIDED MUCH OF THE TURMOIL ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOL DESEGREGATION THAT PLAGUED SO MANY OTHER SOUTHERN STATES AT THAT TIME . AMONG HIS MANY OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS , JUSTICE ERVIN WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES THAT BECAME THE FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN SEEKING CONSUMER PROTECTION POWERS FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE ANDCONCERN FOR THE CONSUMER , FOR THE LITTLE GUY , WAS TYPICAL OF WHAT MADE JUSTICE ERVIN A TRUE HERO TO MANY OF US. ANOTHER GREAT FLORIDIAN AND MAN OF COURAGE , GOVERNOR LEROY COLLINS SAID OF JUSTICE ERVIN , THAT HE HAD A DEEP LOVE FOR HIS FELLOW MAN , PARTICULARLY THE UNDERDOG , AND THAT HE WAS , QUOTE , DEMOCRATIC, THAT IS WITH A SMALL "D" TO THE CORE . PREPARING FOR THIS CEREMONY , I REREAD A NUMBER OF JUSTICE ERVIN'S OPINIONS . IN FOCUSING O N THE TONE OF HIS WRITING , THE WAY HE ADDRESSED THE ISSUES AND THE CONCLUSIONS THAT HE REACHED , I WAS IMPRESSED ANEW BY A BODY OF WRITINGS THAT WAS METICULOUS, PRECISE IN ITSUSE OF LANGUAGE, OPINIONS THAT STRUCK A BALANCE BETWEEN PRAGUE MATTISM AND PRINCIPLE -- PRAGMATISM AND PRINCIPLE AND REFRAIN FROM HYPERBOLY. AS JUSTICE AND SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE HE OFFERED OVER 100 OPINIONS , MANY OF THEM DISENTS , EARNING HIM THE TITLE O F GREAT DISSENTER. ALTHOUGH WE O N THIS COURTSTRIVE TO ACHIEVE UNANIMOUS DECISIONS , DISSENT CAN HELP APPELLATE DECISION-MAKING , HELP ING TO SHARPEN THE MAJORITY OPINION. SOMETIMES THEY BECOME THE MAJORITY OPINION , EITHER SOONER OR LATER. THIS WAS THE CASE WITH JUSTICE ERVIN'S OPINION DISSENTING FROM THE COURT'S DECISION THAT GAVE ONE SPOUSE IMMUNITY AGAINST THE INTENTIONAL ACTS OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY ANOTHER SPOUSE DURING THE MARRIAGE. IN HIS VIEW AND JUSTICE ERVIN'S VIEW , THIS RULE SHOULD BE ABOLISHED . HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME AND HIS VIEW EVENTUALLY BECAME THE LAW , MANY YEARS LATER. DISSENTS CAN ALSO BE THE MARK OF MORAL COURAGE N ANOTHER DISSENT IN ONE OF HIS FINAL CASES AS JUSTICE , JUSTICE ERVIN FORCEFULLY ARGUED THAT FLORIDA'S RECENTLY REVISED DEATH PENALTY STATUTE WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. THIS WAS NOT A POPULAR POSITION, EITHER THEN OR NOW. HE STOOD ALONE IN THAT DISSENT , BUT IT WASCONSISTENT WITH HIS VISION OF A MERCIFUL SOCIETY , AS WELL AS HIS VIEW OF THE LAW. HIS FAMILY, HIS COLLEAGUES , AND EVEN HIS FORMER GOLF PARTNERS HAVE THEIR MEMORIES OF JUSTICE ERVIN TO CALL UPON. TO THE REST OF US, HIS OPINIONS LEAVE THEIR INDELIBLE MARK O F JUSTICE ERVIN AS A JUDGE AND A LAWYER WHO CARED DEEPLY ABOUT THE HUMAN LIVES TOUCHED BY THE LAW AND WHO TOOK THE TIME TO GET IT RIGHT. JUSTICE ERVIN WAS CLEARLY A PERSON WHO ADD MILES AN HOURBLY TOOK HIS WORK -- WHO ADMIRABLY TOOK HIS WORK BUT NOT HIMSELF SERIOUSLY . JUSTICE ERVIN , BORN IN CARRABELLE, SAID HE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE ROBES OF A JUSTICE AND SAI D HE WAS AWFULLY GLAD THAT JUSTICES WEREN'T ALSO BEWIGGED. HAVING FACED THE CHOICE O F WHETHER TO WATER A WIG ON THE BENCH MYSELF - - OF WHETHER TO WEAR A BIG ON -- A WIG ON THE BENCH MYSELF LAST YEAR, I HAVE TO SAY I PROUDLY CONCUR , AND A JUSTICE IN A STATE WHERE A FLORIDA CRACKER FROM CARRABELLE AS WELL AS A BABY BOOMER FROM NO ,, CAN BOTH BECOME CHIEF JUSTICE IN THIS GREAT AND DIVERSE STATE OF OURS. I NOW HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF INTRODUCING THE FIRST OF OUR SPEAKERS, AND THAT IS THEPRESIDENT OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION , NINA ASHENAFI.

CHIEF JUSTICE PARIENTE , JUSTICES , HONORED GUESTS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF JUSTICE ERVIN. FORGIVE ME BUT I HAVE PREPARED MY PRESENTATION , BECAUSE THERE IS JUST SOMUCH TO SAY , AND IT IS AN HONOR FOR ME TO BE HERE THISAFTERNOON ON BEHALF OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATIONBOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OURMEMBERS. WE ARE HERE THIS AFTERNOON TO HONOR ONE OF THE GREATEST JURISTS OF OUR AM CENTURY . JUSTICE ERVIN - - OF OUR CENTURY. JUSTICE ERVIN HAS BEEN A PART OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION SINCE AT LEAST 1921 RAN WAS AMONG OUR FOUNDING FATHERS. IN FACT , UNTIL HIS PASSING , HE WAS OUR OLDEST LIVING MEMBER. THE TALLAHASSEE BAR JOKES WAS FOUNDED IN 1919 -- THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION WAS FOUNDED IN 1919 AND HAS PLAYED A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LEGAL COMMUNITY. AS ONE OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION S , OUR MEMBERS INCLUDING A WIDE VARIETY OF ATTORNEYS WHO PRACTICE I N EVERY AREA OF THE LAW , JUSTICES , JUDGES AND LAW STUDENTS. EVEN FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT FOR THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE , FOR THE COMMON MAN, HE NEVER LOST HIS CONNECTION TO THOSEOF US AT THE LOCAL BAR LEVEL , DOING OUR PART TO SERVE THE CITIZENS OF OUR COMMUNITY. THE HISTORY OF THE ERVIN FAMILY , IS A N INTEGRAL PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION . SEVERAL YEARS AGO , ONE OF OUR MEMBERS , SID MATTHEW , MEMORIALIZE ED THE HISTORY OF JUSTICE ERVIN THAT INCLUDED AN ORA L HISTORY OF HIS YEARS AS A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE , IN A BOOK ENTITLED THE HISTORY OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION. SID MATTHEW ALSO WROTE AN ARTICLE FOR TALLAHASSEE MAGAZINE , CALLED THE HISTORY OF GOLF IN TALLAHASSEE, WHICH INCLUDED SEVERALQUOTES FROM JUSTICE ERVIN, WHO IS PART O F TALLAHASSEE GOLFING HISTORY AS WELL , ALONG WITH OTHER PROMINENT MEMBERS OF OUR ASSOCIATION WHO GOLFED REGULARLY TOGETHER, USUALLY AT THE CAPITAL CITY GOLF COURSE. UPON LEARNING OF JUSTICE ERVIN'S PASSING , THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION PUBLISHED A VERY SPECIALTRIBUTE TO JUSTICE ERVIN IN OUR OCTOBER 2004 EDITION OF THE BAR BULLETIN , BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN B Y HISFRIEND AND COLLEAGUE , STAN CHAPMAN. JUSTICE ERVIN WAS A GREAT MAN AND A LIVING LEGEND. THOUGH HE WAS A HUMBLE AND UNASSUMING MAN , NEVER TALKING DOWN T O ANYONE OR PUTTING ON AIRS , JUSTICE ERVIN INFLUENCED THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATIONIN A GREAT AND PROFOUND WAY. HE WAS AMONG THE GREAT MEN WHO ESTABLISHED THE PRINCIPLE S O F SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY , SERVICE TO EACH OTHER , AND SERVICE TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT OTHERWISE AFFORD LEGAL REPRESENTATION . TO BE A MEMBER OF OUR ASSOCIATION , AN ATTORNEY PROMISES TO PROVIDE PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICE EACH YEAR , AS A CONDITION OF MEMBER SHIP. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION , WE ARE THE OLDEST MANDATORY BAR ASSOCIATION I N THE NATION. JUSTICE RICHARD W ERVIN, CONTRIBUTED TO ESTABLISHING THE VALUE THAT WE PLACE ON PRO BONO SERVICE. HIS LEGACY IS FELT BY THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED BY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS WHO , WITHOUT SUCH PRO BONO ASSISTANCE, COULD NOT HAVE H AD THEIR DAY IN COURT. JUSTICE ERVIN KNEW , ALL TOOWELL , THAT THE CAUSE OF THE OPPRESSED MUST BE ONE THAT THOSE OF US IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION MUST CHAMPION, FOR WHAT HAPPENS TO THE LEAST OF US , HAPPENS EVENTUALLY TO US ALL. OUR CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT. IN 2003 , OUR MEMBERS ' PRO BONO SERVICE EQUATED TO 1.4 MILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF LEGAL SERVICES. JUST AS HE DID ON THESUPREME COURT , JUSTICE ERVINAND THE ERVIN FAMILY, HAVE CULTIVATED , ADVOCATED AND SUPPORTED ALL EFFORTS TO SERVICE CHAMPIONS FOR THEVOICE LESS, THE POOR , AND THE POWERLESS . THIS HAS BEEN A LONG STANDING TRADITION OF OUR ASSOCIATION , LASTING OVER 36 YEARS. FOR INSTANCE , THREE MEMBERSOF THE RICHARD ERVIN FAMILY SERVED AS OUR PAST PRESIDENTS, IN 1954 , IT WAS HIS BROTHER ROBERT ERVIN. IN 1966 , IT WAS HIS NEPHEW CARL PENNINGTON JR. , AND I N 1974 IT WAS ANOTHER NEPHEW , TOM ERVIN JR.. JUSTICE ERVIN'S SON , RICHARD W ERVIN , ALSO A TBA MEMBER, HAS INHERITED HIS FATHER 'S SPIRIT OF SERVICE TO THE BENCH AND BAR. FOR HE CURRENTLY SETS AS A N APPELLATE COURT JUDGE, ANDPRIOR TO THAT, SERVED OUR CITIZENS FOR MANY YEARS AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER. ROBERT M ERVIN JR. , REPRESENTING YET ANOTHER GENERATION OF THE ERVIN FAMILY, PURSUES A LEGAL CAREER AS WELL , AND IS ONE THAT W E PROUDLY SAY IS ONEOF OUR MEMBERS AS WELL . JUSTICE ERVIN AND THE ERVIN FAMILY HAVE BEEN LEADERS OF OUR ORGANIZATION , HAVE SET AN EXAMPLE B Y THEIRINVOLVEMENT AND COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING THE PROFESSION , PROMOTING FLOP , AND SERVING -- PROMOTING FELLOWSHIP AND SERVING THE COMMUNITY. THEY ARE , IN AND OF THEMSELVES, A LEGAL DYNASTY. WHEN THERE WERE EFFORTS TO DO AWAY WITH OUR ASSOCIATION'S PRO BONO REQUIREMENT , IT WAS JUSTICE ERVIN AND HIS FAMILY, WHO JOINED THOSE WHO PROVIDED A VOICE FOR THE VOICE LESS , AND UNREPRESENTED IN OUR COMMUNITY , WHETHER IT WAS IN SERVICE AS FLORIDA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL O R AS A FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE , OR AS A MEMBER O F HIS LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATION , JUSTICE ERVIN WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, FOR WHAT I S JUST. IN FACT , HE WAS CALLED AS JUSTICE PARIENTE INTRODUCED , THE GREAT DISSENTER , BECAUSE OF HIS FEARLESSNESS AT SPEAKING UP FOR THE COMMON MAN. DURING THE TIME THAT HE SERVED AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE , IT WAS MUST NOT I HAD INTERESTS SUCH AS -- MONEY INTERESTS SUCH A S BIG SUGAR , RAILROAD AND PHOSPHATE COMPANIES THAT WERE ABLE TO HAVE THEIR CASES HEARD AND ABLE TO APPEAL TO THE HIGHEST COURTS. HOWEVER, THE COMMON MAN ON THE OTHER HAND , WAS TYPICALLY DISENFRANCHISED FROM THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. IT WAS JUSTICE ERVIN WHO ALWAYS DISSENTED IN SUCH DECISIONS AND ADVOCATED FOR THE RIGHT OF THE POOR , THE MINORITY, AND THE DISENFRANCHISED . FOR INSTANCE , JUSTICE ERVIN HELPED FLORIDA MOVE FROM SEGREGATION T O DESEGREGATION AND HELPED EMPOWER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. TOBY SIMON, A GREAT TALLAHASSEE ATTORNEY WHO SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE TRYING TO ESTABLISH A MEANSFOR THE COMMON MAN TO LITERALLY HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT AND BE ABLE TO APPEAL IT TO THE HIGHEST COURT , USED EXTRAORDINARY WRITS AS THE MEANS TO DO IT. HE DEDICATED , TOBY SIMON , DEDICATED HIS THREE -VOLUME TREATIES ON EXTRAORDINARY WRITS T O JUSTICE ERVIN DISSENTING, A TRIBUTE TO THE COURAGEOUSNESS AND STRENGTH OF WILL TO DISSENT AGAINST THE AUTHORITY AND AGAINSTTHE POWER OF BIG BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY. THE CORRECTNESS OF JUSTICE ERVIN'S ANALYSIS WERE FRUIT. THERE IS A HAPPY ENDING . ALMOST ALL OF HIS DISSENTING OPINIONS BECAME THE LAW OF OUR LAND. FOR EXAMPLE THE ARTICLE V REVISIONS O F THE 1968 CONSTITUTION AND REVISIONS OF APPELLATE RULES , WERE CHANGED TO REFLECT JUSTICE ERVIN 'S BROADER VIEW OF JUSTICE FOR ALL. JUSTICE ERVIN DEVOTED HIS PROFESSIONAL LIFE TO PUBLIC SERVICE, BECAUSE HE WAS LITERALLY A LIVING LEGEND , ONE OF OUR PAST BAR PRESIDENTS , MELANIE HINES , HELPED TO CREATE THE RICHARD W ERVIN AWARD IN 2000. IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT HE WAS SO HONORED WHILE HE WAS STILL ALIVE . THE AWARD RECOGNIZES AN ATTORNEY WHOSE CAREER IS DEFINED BY , ONE , DEDICATION TO THE PRINCIPLE OF ASSURING EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL , TWO , WHO HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND , THREE , WHO HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN BAR ASSOCIATION WITH THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT. THE AWARD RECIPIENT IS JOINTLY SELECTED BY THE CAPITAL CITY BAR PRESIDENTS, A COUNCIL MADE UP OF ALL OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATIONS. THE AWARD IS PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL BANQUET CELEBRATING LAW DAY. IN EXPLAINING WHY THE AWARD WAS NAMED AFTER JUSTICE ERVIN , w6 MELANIE HINES STATES,QUOTE , IT COULD HAVE BEEN NAMED AFTER SEVERAL OTHERS , BUT JUSTICE ERVIN WAS , ATTHE TIME , THE OLDEST LIVING LEGEND AFTER WHOM WE HOPE TO MODEL OUR OWN CAREER. IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HAVE JUSTICE ERVIN PRESENT AT THE IN AN AUGUSTRAL EVENT , AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN HONOR TO WHICH ALL LAWYERS, YOUNG AND OLD , CAN B E PROUD TO ASPIRE AND ACHIEVE. THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY SELECTED BY THE }i CAPITAL CITY BAR PRESIDENTS TO BE DISTINGUISHED AS A RICHARD W ERVIN AWARD RECIPIENT , WERE MARK TAPPS I N 2003 , NANCY DANIELS IN 2003 , ATTORNEY GENERAL BOB BUTTERWORTH IN 2002 AND MARTHA BARNETT IN 2001. THANK YOU , JUSTICE ERVIN AND THE ENTIRE ERVIN FAMILY, FOR THIS SIGNIFICANT AND POSITIVE IMPACT YOU HAVE HAD UPON ME PERSONALLY , UPON THE TALLAHASSEE BAR ASSOCIATION , AND TO COUNTLESS FLORIDIANS . THOUGH JUSTICE ERVIN HAS PASSED ON , HE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED JURISPRUDENCE , WHERE IT IS TRULY FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL. I CLOSE WITH NOT MY WORDS BUT WITH THOSE O F JUSTICE ERVIN. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JAN PUDLOE OF THE FLORIDA BARNEWS I N 1999 , HE STATES , I REALLY BELIEVE , WHEN YOU GET DOWN TO IT , THAT YOU TRY T O DO THE RIGHT THING . DON'T CUT ANY CORNERS. DON'T BE UNETHIC AL. AND TREAT PEOPLE RIGHT ! I DON'T CARE WHO THEY ARE , TREAT THEM RIGHT, HIGH OR LOW , BLACK OR WHITE , TREATTHEM RIGHT . BE GOOD TO THEM . AND THAT WILL USUALLY HELP YOU IN THE LONG-RUN. THANK YOU . [APPLAUSE]

CHIEF JUSTICE: THANK FOR YOU THAT WONDERFUL TRIBUTE. I AM NOW HONORED TO CALL UPON SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD SO MANY PROMINENT TITLES , THATI WILL ONLY NAME TWO OF THEM. THE COURT WILL RECOGNIZE FORMER AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND FORMER FSU PRESIDENT SANDY D'ALEMBERTE .

THANK YOU , MADAM CHIEF JUSTICE , MEMBERS OF THE COURT.I A M DELIGHTED T O BE HERE. JUSTICE ERVIN , WHO WAS SUCH A FRIEND TO S O MANY PEOPLE , LOVED VERY MUCH , HIS FAMILY , AND HE LOVED HIS WORK , AND HE, ALSO , LOVED THE POLITICAL PROCESS. HE COLLECTED POLITICAL STORIES , AND NO , GOVERNOR ASKEW , THESE ARE NOT MY REMARKS. THEY ARE COLLECTIONS FROM JUSTICE ERVIN'S POLITICAL STORIES, WHICH ARE WONDERFUL TO READ . HAVING SERVED WITH SUCH DIVERSE PEOPLE AS DANIAL McCARTY , AND CHARLEY GRIMES,GAVE HIM GREAT MATERIAL BUT I MUST SAY HE PICKED UP SOME MATERIAL WHILE ON THIS COURT.HE ENJOYED TELLING A STORE BIHIS CHILDHOOD FRIEND GOVERNOR COLLINS, AND HOW HE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL FROM LAW PRACTICE. AS A YOUNG LAWYER , GOVERNOR COLLINS REPRESENT ADD FARMER WHO HAD HAD A COW STRANDED ON THE RAILROAD TRACK, AND THE COW HAD BEEN RUN OVER BY THE SEABOARD RAILROAD TRAIN. AFTER TESTIFY ING ABOUT THIS COW , THE JURY RETURNED A VERY FAVORABLE VERDICT , AND GOVERNOR COLLINS SAID HE LEARNED ABOUT ANIMAL HUSBAND RY FROM THI S EXPERIENCE THAT , IF YOU TAKE AN OLD COWAN COMBINE IT WITH A SEABOARD TRAIN , YOU GET A WONDERFUL JERSEY COW. HE TOLD POLITICAL JOKES AND DID NOT MIND NAMING PEOPLE. HE TOLD ABOUT SENATOR POLK, WHO SERVED WITH GOVERNOR ASKEW , SAW THAT HE AND SENATOR KICKLITER HAD BOTH VOTED FOR A BILL. SENATOR POPE THEN ASKED FOR UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT HIS VOTE BE CHANGED TO NAY , DECIDING THAT HE WAS RIGHT AND KICK REITER WAS WRONG. HE TOLD A POLITICAL STORYABOUT SENATOR SHANDS , WHO HE SAID ONCE KNEW O'NEAL LEVY , THE LONG TIME CITIZEN OBSERVER OF FLORIDAGOVERNMENT, AND SAID , O'NEAL, I HEARD THAT YOU ARE TELLINGPEOPLE THAT ALL SENATORS ARE SKRAUND RELIES. AND O'NEAL -- ARE SCOUNDRELS , BUT O'NEAL RESPONDED NO , BUT I KNEW I T WOULD COME OUT SOONER OR LATER. JUSTICE ERVIN HAD COMMENTS ABOUT THIS COURT.

CHIEF JUSTICE: DID WE SENSOR THESE REMARKS? [LAUGHTER]

ONE O F THE GAFERTS FAVORITES IS ONE -- ONE OF THE FAVORITES IS ONE THAT JUDGE ERVIN TOLD ME , ABOUTONE OF JUSTICE ERVIN'S FORMER ROOMMATES AT THEUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA , WHO WAS BK ROBERTS , AND APPARENTLY JUDGE ROBERTS WAS SERVING AS CHIEF JUSTICE AND WAS APPEARING AT A COURT CONFERENCE, AND HE WAS COMPLAINING TO OTHER JUSTICES THAT HE SIMPLY COME COULD NOT GET ANYTHING DONE , THAT THE JUSTICES WERE NOT GETTING THEIR OPINIONS IN ON TIME AND EVEN JUSTICES AROUND OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE WERE NOT FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS. HE CONCLUDED WIT H CONVICTION , IT TAKES A REAL SOB TO DO THIS JOB AND JUSTICE ERVIN RESPONDED, WELL , BK, YOU SEEM TO HAVE ALL OF THE QUALIFICATIONS. THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER HE CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE STATE.AS ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE ROAD DEPARTMENT , HE HELPED ESTABLISH A SECONDARY GAS TAX, BEGAN THE ROADSIDE PARKS , CREATED THE ACT THAT BEGAN THE FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL. WHEN HE DECIDED WITH HIS FATHER'S ENCOURAGEMENT AND A GREAT DEAL OF HELP FROM HIS BROTHER BOB, TO RUN FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, HE ACCUMULATED A LIST OF PLACES THAT HE COULD CLAIM AND THAT COULD CLAIM HIM. HE WAS BORN IN CARRABELLE , WHICH HE DESCRIBED AS THE HEART OF FLORIDA'S FORGOTTEN COAST. HE COULD CLAIM GAINESVILLE , TALLAHASSEE , BRISTOL, AND HE PRACTICED LAW I N CLEARWATER , PALATKA , JACKSONVILLE , FORT MYERS AND MIAMI , AND I HIM TOLD HE SAID IN CAMPAIGNINGTHAT HE WAS FROM ALL OF THOSE PLACES AND KNEW THEM WELL. HE WAS A ONE -PERSON WALKING AT LAST OF FLORIDA , AND NOT SURPRISINGLY, HE WAS ELECTED BY AN OVERWHELMING VOTE. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ASSESS ATTORNEY GENERAL ERVIN'S IMPACT , WITHOUT MENTIONING THE INCREDIBLE NUMBER O F DISTINGUISHED LAWYERS WHO AT ONE TIME WORKED FOR HIM, PARTICULARLY DURING THE TIME THAT HE WAS ATTORNEY GENERAL.THIS WAS A GREAT LAW OFFICE AND INCLUDED SOME OF THE GIANTS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION, RELIABLE ROBERT McLURE , GEORGE OWEN , RALPH McCLAIN , FRED BURNS , REEVES BOWEN , THE GENTLEMANLY CHARLES HENDERSON AND RHODES KITCHEN WERE ALL IN THAT OFFICE. I WORKED IN THAT OFFICE ONE SUMMER IN THE MACHINE ROOM , DEMONSTRATING THAT JUSTICE ERVIN HAD A VERY GOOD AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM. THE LIST OF GREAT LAWYERS WHO PASSED THROUGH THAT OFFICE IS SO LONG AND SO DISTINGUISHED , THAT ONLY A FOOL O R VERY CLEVER PERSON WOULD ATTEMPT TO GIVE YOUTHE LIST. I HAVE NO CLAIM T O CLEVERNESS , AND I ONLY SAY THAT I CAN NOT RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM MENTIONING SEVERAL OF THOSE NAMES. BEN OVERTON , PHIL GOLDMANANN MURRAY SAMS WERE ALL PEOPLE I KNEW QUITE WELL , AND IN CONTACT WITH THESE PEOPLE, IT WAS I NEVITABLE THAT THEY WOULD IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS BEING A FORMER ASSISTANT TORB ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER ATTORNEY GENERAL ERVIN. JUSTICE ERVIN'S NAME WAS INVOKED , EVERY TIME WE HAD A DIFFICULT PROBLEM OF ETHICS OR MORALS. THE PRIDE OF THESE LAWYERSCAME IN PART , BECAUSE OF THE INCREDIBLE RECORD O F ACCOMPLISHMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE AND SOME OF THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN RECITED BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE. WE MOST REMEMBER , OF COURSE , THE IMPORTANT BRIEF THAT ADVANCED A VERY SENSIBLE PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING BROWN V BOARD OF EDUCATION , AND WE APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISH MENT REPRESENTED BY THE SUCCESS IN THE TIDE LANDS OIL CASE , BUT HIS TERM WAS MARKED B Y HIS UTTER DISREGARD O F ADVICE THAT H E SAID NATHAN MAYO GOT FROM A COUNTY COMMISSIONER. THAT PERSON TOLD NATHAN MAYO,IF YOU WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN POLITICS , SAY AS LITTLE AS YOU CAN AND BEST OF ALL , DON'T DO ANYTHING OFFICIALLY , IF YOU CAN HELP IT , BUT JUSTICE ERVIN PAID NO ATTENTION T O THAT ADMONITION. HE STARTED A GAMBLING UNIT , INAUGURATING THE ACT THAT WAS THE CRIME LAB A FORERUNNER FOR THE FDLE AND ESTABLISHED FLORIDA LAWS ON A SYSTEMATIC BASIS . NOW , I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICULARLY SAY SOMETHING ABOUT JUSTICE ERVIN'S OPINIONS. IT IS APPROPRIATE ON OCCASIONS LIKE THIS , TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT NOT ALL JUDICIAL OPINIONS ARE CREATED EQUAL. IT IS EVEN WORTH REMARKING THAT IT IS NOT THE CULTURE OF ALL LEGAL SYSTEMS , A ND I N CIVIL LAW SOCIETIES , THE INDIVIDUAL JUDGE IS NOT AS IMPORTANT A FIGURE AND IS TRADITIONALLY THOUGHT OF AS A BUREAUCRAT , MECHANICALLY APPLYING THE LEGISLATIVELY ADOPTED CODE, AND IN THOSE COUNTRIES , JUDGE S USUALLY DO NOT SIGN THEIR NAMES, BUT IN OUR TRADITIONS DERIVING FROM ENGLAND, WE LEARNED VRL -- WE LEARNED VERY EARLY IN OUR LEGAL PROFESSION THAT SOME JUSTICES DEMAND PARTICULAR RESPECT AND SOME CASES WE READ MORE CLOSELY THAN OTHERS AND IN THIS COUNTRY , LAWYERS HAVE BEEN HEARD IN COMMON LAW TRADITIONS AND WE VEER THE NAMES OF THOMAS MOORE AND JUSTICE COOK. WE FERLS THAT SOME JUSTICES ARE NOT ESPECIALLY -- WE REALIZE THAT SOME JUSTICES ARE NOT ESPECIALLY TALENTED AND A FEW ARE CORRUPT , AND AS CITED BY JUSTICE McCAIN , YOU ARE NOT CALLING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE AUTHOR AND IF YOU ARE CITING TO OTHERS,YOU WILL REMEMBER THE AUTHOR, AND WHEN OUR RESEARCH TURNS UP AN OPINION BY JUSTICE ERVIN , WE ARE EAGER TO CITE IT AND TO KNOW THE AUTHOR . HIS LEGAL CAREER PREPARED HIM FOR SERVICE ON THE COURT AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT HE HAD A FIRM GROUNDING ON THE LAW. WE ALSO KNOW THAT HE WAS REGARDEDED FOR HIS CHARACTER AND FOR PROFESSIONISM. HE DEALT WITH OTHER LAWYERSIN GOOD FAITH , AND IN ALL OF HIS DEALINGS , HE SEEMED TO LEAVE ADMIRERS AND NOT ENEMIES , BUT OUR REGARD FOR HIM AND HIS REPUTATION DEPEND ON EVEN MORE THAN THIS. EACH OF US WILL LOOK AT HIS OPINIONS AND FIND THOSE OPINIONS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY ATTRACTIVE TO US , BUT I BELIEVE THAT ON SEVERAL NOTABLE OCCASIONS, WE COULD ALL AGREE THAT JUSTICE ERVIN WROTE DISENTSTHAT BECAME VERY IMPORTANT PARTS OF OUR LAW . I PARTICULARLY NOTE WHERE ARGENSINGER VERSUS STATE WHERE HE JOINED JUSTICE BOYD AND CRAIG V STATE , WHERE HE ARGUED FOR BIFURCATED TRIALS FOR T HE GUILT AND SENTENCING PHASES O F HOMICIDE CASES AND ALSO DISSENTED IN GARDENER VERSUS STATE, REASONING THAT IT WAS FUNDAMENTAL ERROR FORA PORTION OF A PRESENTENCINGREPORT TO BE Y50D USED BY A JUDGE , WITHOUT DISCLOSURE TO A DEFENDANT AND OF COURSE THOSE POSITIONS WERE ADOPTED AT OTHER TIMES BY COURTS AND LEGISLATURES. IN O NE AREA, JUSTICE ERVIN WAS DISTINCTLY AHEAD OF HIS TIME AND THAT WAS THE DISAPPROVAL HE VOICED ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY. IT WAS INTERESTING THAT THIS MAN, SO CLOSELY AFFILIATED WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT , DID NOT HESITATE IN OPENLY STATING HIS POSITION.IN STATE VERSUS DIXON , 1973 , HE SAID, QUOTE , WE CAN LITTLE AFFORD TO TURN BACK TO THE DEATH PENALTY, BECAUSE IT IS CLEAR TO THINKING PEOPLE THAT BRUTALITY AND CRUELTY AT THE HAND OF GOVERNMENT , SOILS THE FABRIC OF AN ENLIGHTENED NATION. WHEN FLORIDA BEGAN AGAINWITH EXECUTIONS , H E SAT ON THE SPINNING HE WILL LINK PANEL AND - - ON THE SPINKELINK PANEL AND ARGUED AND WROTE A S USUAL I T IS THE DISCRETION TO SENTENCING JUDGES TO DETERMINE WHO WILL IN A PARTICULAR CASE GET DEATH. WE KNOW INTUITIVE LY WHO WILL , THE POOR, PUBLIC DEFENDER CLIENTS , BLACKS AND OTHER MINORITY PEOPLE , MENTALLY INCOMPETENT AND THOSE HOLDING UNPOPULAR AND UNORTHODOX IDEOLOGY IES. THE AFFLUENT USUALLY ESCAPE THE DEATH PENALTY. THIS WAS GROUNDED I N HIS HUMANITY. REMEMBER THAT JUSTICE POWELL , ANOTHER GREAT JUSTICE WHOSE VOICE WAS SO CRITICAL I N CAPITAL PUNISHMENT JURISPRUDENCE , SAID AFTER HE LEFT THE BEVERAGE THAT HE REGRETTED -- AFTER H E LEFT THE BENCH , THAT HE REGULAR LETED THE MOST WHETHER CAPITAL PUNISHMENT CAN EVER BE ADMINISTERED IN A WAY THAT IS TRULY FAIR. REMARKABLE THING IS THAT JUSTICE ERVIN VOICED HIS OPINION WHILE HE WAS ON THEBENCH AND UNLIKE JUSTICE POWELL, DID NOT HAVE TO REGRET HIS FAILURE TO SPEAKOUT WHEN HE WAS IN OFFICE. WE WILL MISS THIS KIND MAN, THIS MAN THAT HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL SPINE AND A CONSCIENCE. THIS GREAT PUBLIC SERVANTWHO HAD THI S WONDERFUL SENSE OF HUMOR, THI S JUDGE WHO BELIEVED STRONGLY IN ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND SAW THAT THEMISSION OF LAW IS TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR ALL CITIZENS . WE CAN ALL BENEFIT FROM THE ADVICE HE GAVE HIS CHILDREN AND GRANT GRANDCHILDREN . -- AND HIS GRANDCHILDREN. PURSUE STUDIOUSNESS AND CONSCIENTIOUS NESS AND CONTINUE TO SEEK AND REACH GOALS THAT ARE MEANINGFUL AND RIGHTEOUS. [APPLAUSE]

CHIEF JUSTICE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THOSE APPROPRIATE REMARKS , AND I HOPE THAT, AS I SAID, THAT THE PUBLIC HEARING THESEREMARKS , UNDERSTAND HOW SO MANY OF THESE POSITIONS , DURING THE TIME THAT JUSTICE ERVIN ESPOUSED THEM AND EVEN TODAY , WERE UNPOPULAR , BUT YET SOMEHOW HE WAS SUCH A REMARKABLE PERSON THAT WEHAVE NEVER HEARD OF A PERSON THAT REALLY DISLIKED JUSTICE ERVIN , AND THAT , AGAIN , IS THE MARK OF A TREMENDOUS HUMAN BEING. I WOULD NOW LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESIDENT OF OUR FLORIDA BAR , KELLY OVERSTREET JOHNSON , ALSO A RESIDENT OF TALLAHASSEE , AND A MEMBER OF THE TALLAHASSEE BAR , FOR REMARKS.

THANK YOU , CHIEF JUSTICE. MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. JUSTICES . LADIES AND GENTLEMEN , FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF JUSTICE ERVIN. IT IS TRULY AN HONOR FOR ME , TO BE A PART OF THIS CEREMONIAL SESSION. MEMORIALIZE ING THE AMAZING LIFE OF JUSTICE RICHARD ERVIN , THERE ARE SO MANY ACCOMPLISH MENTS THAT JUSTICE JUSTICE ERVIN HAD DURING HIS LIFETIME, THAT WHEN I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK TODAY , I TRULY WAS AT A LOSS AS TO WHERE TO EVEN START. DO YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS A PUBLIC SERVANT SINCE THE AGE OF 16? DO YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS ATTORNEY GENERALOF THE STATE OF FLORIDA? DO YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS A WELL-RESPECTED JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDASUPREME COURT?I FIGURED THAT , WITH ALL OF THE SPEAKERS THAT WERE HERETODAY , THERE WAS BOUND TO BE SOME OVERLAP , AND THEREALREADY HAS BEEN , AND YOU WILL SEE IT WHEN W E GO ALONG, BUT WHAT I DECIDED T O DO INSTEAD WAS BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT HOW I FIRST MET JUSTICE ERVIN. WHEN, IT WAS EARLY IN M Y LAW DREARY STARTED AT THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE, AND WHEN I LEFT THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE , I WAS HIRED TO GO TO WORK FOR A LAW FIRM THEN KNOWN AS ERVIN BARN JACOBS ODOM AND KITCHEN . I WAS VERY EXCITED TO BE GOING INTO PRIVATE PRACTICE, BUT LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT , AS THE NEWEST LAWYER OF THA T FIRM, I WAS GOING TO BE WORKING IN THE COMPANY OF GIANTS . FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS , I HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH JUSTICE RICHARD ERVIN AND WITH GOVERNOR LEROY COLLINS . NOW , THAT I S A RARE HONOR FOR ANYONE , BUT LET ME TELL YOU IT WAS A VERY RARE HONORFOR A VERY YOUNG LAWYER . I WOULD SEE THEM COMING ANDGOING.I WOULD SEE THEM IN THE KITCHEN GETTING COFFEE, AND I WOULD SEE THEM TELLING WAR STORIES.I PARTICULARLY LIKED THE WAR STORIES FROM JUSTICE ERVIN. MOST OF THEM REVOLVED AROUND GOLF, AND HE WAS QUITE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT H E TYPICALLY SHOT LOWER THAN HIS AGE . SO AS A YOUNG LAWYER , YOU JUST S K NOT IMAGINE BE -- YOU JUST CANNOT IMAGINE BEING IN THE COMPANY OF THESE GENTLEMEN. IT WAS TRULY AN EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL ALWAYS TREASURE . JUSTICE ERVIN WAS KNOWN BY SOME A S THE GENERAL OR SIMPLY JUDGE, WHICH I S WHAT MOST OF US AT THE FIRM CALLED HIM , BUT HE WAS REGARDED BY ALL AS A HUMBLE SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE AND AS A GREAT FLORIDIAN . YOU ALREADY HEARD A COMMON THEME , JUST FROM THE TWO SPEAKERS THAT YOU HAVE HEARD THUS FAR AND THAT I AM SURE YOU WILL BE HEARING MORE OF , BUT JUSTICE ERVIN WAS FREQUENTLY DESCRIBED AS SOMEONE WELL AHEAD OF HIS TIME. HE WAS A WELL-KNOWN ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL EQUALITY , AND HE EMBRACED DIVERSITY , LONG BEFORE ANY OF US UNDERSTOOD WHAT DIVERSITY WOULD COME TO MEAN IN OUR LIVES O R IN OUR PROFESSION. AS I REVIEWED SOME OF THE ARTICLES AND PROFILES WRITTEN BY JUSTICE ERVIN, I FOUND WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE PERFECT QUOTE. UNFORTUNATELY CHIEF JUSTICE PARIENTE FOUND IT, TOO. BUT I T BEARS REPEATING , AND I ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF IT , SO IF YOU DON'T MIND I AM GOING TO REPEAT IT, BECAUSE GOVERNOR COLLINS, WHO WAS ALSO A VERY SPECIAL MAN, HAD SUCH AWAY WITH WORDS. AND HE -- HAD SUCH A WAY WITH WORDS, AND HE DESCRIBED JUSTICE ERVIN AS A MAN POSSESSED BY GREAT IDEAS, A MAN WITH A DEEP SENSE OF LOVE FOR HIS FELLOW MAN , ESPECIALLY THE ONE WHO , FOR WHATEVER REASON , HAS BECOME A SOCIETAL UNDERDOG . DEMOCRATIC TO THE CORE AND THEN STATED , NOTHING IN THE MAN 'S THINKING OR BELIEFS HAS EVEN THE SLIGHTESTING IT OF ELITISM . -- THE SLIGHTEST TINGE OF ELITISM. WHAT A TESTAMENT TO A GREAT MAN. IN HIS COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE , JUSTICE ERVIN ALSO WAS A COMMITTED FAMILY MAN , MARRIED FOR 30 YEARS TO FRANCES BAKER ERVIN, AND THEY HAD TWO CHILDREN , RICHARD AND EVE AND SIX GRANDCHILDREN , ALL OF WHOMHE WAS VERY PROUD. JUSTICE ERVIN'S LEADERSHIP AND LOVE RESULTED NOT ONLY IN A CLOSE KNIT FAMILY BUT , ALSO , ONE WELL-KNOWN FOR HER DEDICATION T O PUBLIC SERVICE.MOST O F HIS FAMILY IS HERE , AND THERE IS JUST A LOT OF THEM. IF YOU LOOK AT THE ROWS , BUT HE WAS SO PROUD OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF HIS MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY . AS NIN A MENTIONED , THERE IS NUMEROUS FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE LAWYERS . HIS BROTHERS B OB AND BEN WAS A LAWYER , HIS NEPHEW TOM ERVIN , BOB ERVIN JR. , CARL PENNINGTON, CARL'S TWO SONS AND BOB'S GRANDDAUGHTER. IN FACT BOB EVEN TOLD A STORY THAT HE GOT A REFERRAL FROM HIS GRANDDAUGHTER , WHICH WAS THE FIRST STORYTHAT I HAD HEARD ABOUT THAT , BUT THE ERVIN FIRM IS WELL , WELL-KNOWN FOR THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE AND THEIR LOVE OF THE LAW.I KNOW BOB AND TOM AND CARL , ALL , R EPRESENTED THE SECOND CIRCUIT ON THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS O F THE FLORIDA BARAND , OF COURSE , BOB SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR. JUSTICE ERVIN'S BROTHER MABE SERVED ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE AUTHORITY. JUSTICE ERVIN'S FAMILY IS A TRUE TESTAMENT TO THE VALUES HE INSTILLED , AND I KNOW HIS WIFE, HIS SON , HIS DAUGHTER, AND HIS OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS ARE VERY PROUD OF THE HERITAGE THEY SHARE AND THE LEGACY HE LEFT FOR ALL OF US . A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AGO , WHEN JUSTICE ERVIN SWORE I N JUSTICE HARRY LEE ANSTEAD AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT , JUSTICE ANSTEAD DESCRIBED JUSTICE ERVIN AS ONE OF THE GREATEST JUSTICES WHO EVER SERVICED THE STATEOF FLORIDA. FOLLOWING A STANDING OVATION , JUSTICE ERVIN SIMPLY THANKED JUSTICE ANSTEAD FOR THE KIND WORDS AND RESPONDED , I WISH I DESERVED IT . HOW AMAZING IT WAS THEN AND STILL IS TODAY , THAT