IN FACT, IT IS BEING INCORPORATED INTO A PLACQUE I AM NOW HONORED TO PRESENT TO YOU, A A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION -- AS A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION TO EVERYONE WORKING IN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE. [APPLAUSE] THERE IS A PICTURE OF YOU AND I, CHIEF, TWO YEARS AGO, ON THE 22d FLOOR, WHEN WE HAD OUR PICTURE TAKEN, AND THIS IS THE BOW TIE, AND IT IS VERY OFFICIAL. IT, ALSO, HAS A LITTLE PLACQUE, WHICH I WILL READ FOR YOU. IT READS: BE IT KNOWN THAT, ON THIS DAY, JUNE 29, 2000, THAT THE OFFICIAL BOW TIE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS HERE BY RETIRED AND PRESENTED TO SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MAJOR B. HARDING, IN FITTING RECOGNITION OF HIS OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEN'S FASHION.

I WOULD LOVE TO. [APPLAUSE]

I CAN HONESTLY SAY WE HAVE A WONDERFUL SUPREME COURT IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND IN MY 14 YEARS APPEARING BEFORE YOU AND WORKING WITH YOU, IT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS HONOR, AND I KNOW THAT CHIEF JUSTICE, SOON TO BE WELLS, WILL FOLLOW IN THE TREMENDOUS FOOTSTEPS THAT HAVE -- THAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, OVER OUR HISTORY. IT IS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT JUSTICE WELLS'S BACKGROUND OF OVER 35 YEARS, HIS LEADERSHIP ROLES, STARTING OFF IN LAW SCHOOL AND BEFORE, A PERSON WHO IS OF UTMOST INTEGRITY, SOLID GRASP OF THE LAW. PEOPLE JUST HAVE SUCH CONFIDENCE WHEN WE ARE WITH YOU, WE APPEAR BEFORE YOU, THAT YOU DO NOT GET INTO THE AURA OF THE IVORY TOWER. YOU REMAIN SEATED FIRMLY OR YOUR FEET FIRMLY ON THE GROUND. YOU SIT SOMETHING ELSE IN THAT CHAIR FIRMLY. BUT YOU HAVE THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF FAIRNESS AND COMMON SENSE, AND WITH YOUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE, ROCK SOLID INTEGRITY, THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW, AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO GO OUT TO OUR COMMUNITIES, TO EXPLAIN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE, IN ORDER THAT -- FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS, AN EQUAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, I WISH YOU WELL. LOOKING FORWARD TO APPEARING BEFORE YOU. FOR TWO YEARS, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU AT THE END OF THE TWO YEARS, BUT, AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [APPLAUSE]

THANK YOU, GENERAL. I WILL CHERISH THE BOW TIE IN MY OFFICE. YOU DID A GOOD JOB, JUSTICE QUINCE, SWEARING HIM IN. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS THE HONORABLE JEB BUSH, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, AND I HAD THE PRIVILEGE, ON A VERY COLD DAY IN JANUARY, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, OF ADMINISTERING THE OATH TO HIM, AND IT IS OUR PRIVILEGE TO HAVE YOU COME AND ADDRESS THE COURT. [APPLAUSE]

THANK YOU. TONY, I -- TONI, I STILL DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE A LAWYER. IF YOU ARE NOT A LAWYER, ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO MAKE THE REQUEST. IS THAT STILL A REQUIREMENT? CHIEF JUSTICE HARDING, IT PROBABLY WOULD BE GOOD FOR ME TO TRY TO DO THIS. CHIEF JUSTICE HARDING, JUSTICES, MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT.

IT DOES.

GOOD. WHEW! IT WAS GOING TO BE A PRETTY SHORT SPEECH, IF IT WASN'T. [LAUGHTER]

IT IS A SPECIAL PLEASURE FOR ME TO BE HERE FOR THE PASSING OF THE GAVEL. IN OUR STATE, WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE. WE DON'T REFLECT AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THE PAST OR THE TRADITIONS HA -- THAT HAVE GOTTEN US HERE, AND WHENEVER I COME HERE, I LOOK AROUND THE HALLS AND SEE FLORIDA'S HISTORY IN A GOOD SENSE AND VERY NOBLE SENSE IN THIS HALL. I GET A LITTLE NERVOUS AND REF RENT, AND SO IT IS GREAT TO BE IN A GREAT TRADITION, AND I AM HONORED TO BE GOVERNOR, TO BE PART OF THIS. JUSTICE HARDING, YOU HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB, TEACHING THIS ROOKY GOVERNOR ABOUT OUR HISTORY AND ABOUT THE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT. JOHN, I AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT FOURTH BRANCH IS. I GUESS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PRESS, AND I PUT THEM DOWN A NOTCH OR TWO, COMPARED TO THE THREE THAT WE HAVE TO CONTEND WITH. I HAVE LEARNED A LOT FROM YOU, AND I KNOW THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO NOT ONLY STYLISTICALLY LEAD US BUT, ALSO, PLAY AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ROLE, AS YOU CONTINUE TO BE JUSTICE. WHEN I THINK OF THE TREASURES SHARED BY THE NATION'S GREAT JURISTS, I THINK OF INTEGRITY, INTELLECTUAL STATURE, WISDOM, INDEPENDENCE, DILIGENCE, AND A CONFIDENCE-INSPIRING DEMEANOR. JUSTICE WELLS POSESSES ALL OF THESE QUALITIES AND MORE. HE IS ALWAYS EASYGOING, BUT HE IS, ALSO, ONE OF THE HARDEST-WORKING PEOPLE IN HIS OFFICE, IN THE ENTIRE OFFICE, AND AS SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES IN THE VIRTUE OF WORK, I LIKE PEOPLE THAT DO THAT, THAT WORKDAY IN AND DAY OUT, TO INSPIRE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. BACK WHEN JUSTICE WELLS FIRST STARTED ON THE COURT, DURING ONE OF THE FIRST ORAL ARGUMENTS HE HAD EVER HEARD, HE OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO MAKE A REALLY GOOD IMPRESSION WITH HIS FELLOW JUSTICES, AND HE THOROUGHLY PREPARED FOR THE CASE. HE READ ALL OF THE BRIEFS AND THE FILINGS AND NEW THE -- KNEW THE ARGUMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES, INSIDE OUT. ONCE THE ORAL ARGUMENTS STARTED, JUSTICE WELLS BECAME SO ENGROSSED IN THE CASE THAT HE BEGAN TO QUESTION ONE OF THE ATTORNEYS AS TO THE PARTICULARS OF THE CASE. HIS QUESTIONING WAS SO INTENSE, THAT THE ATTORNEY PASSED OUT FROM THE STRESS. [LAUGHTER] JUSTICE WELLS IS NOT ONLY INTENSE ON THE COURT BUT THOSE WHO KNOW HIM OFF THE COURT, ALSO, KNOW THAT HE IS AN INTENSE BASKETBALL PLAYER, AS WELL. I KNOW HE HAS CAUSED SOME OTHER ATTORNEYS TO PASS OUT FROM HIS QUICK MOVES TO THE HOOP! PERHAPS WE COULD ASK THE LEGISLATURE TO APPROPRIATE A BASKETBALL HOOP FOR THE COURT'S PARKING LOT. WELL, THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A MEMBER PROJECT. THAT MIGHT NOT WORK, BUT WE WILL TRY SOMETHING ELSE. WE HAVE TO WORK OUT SOMETHING WITH SPEAKER THRASHER, OF COURSE, BECAUSE I KNOW JUSTICE WELLS IS A GATOR FAN, AND EVERY GRAY HAIR ON HIS HEAD WAS CAUSED BY WORRYING ABOUT HIS BELOVED TEAM, PARTICULARLY IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHEN THE SEMINOLES HAVE BEEN BEATING YOU. SERIOUSLY, JUSTICE WELLS, IS A TRUE EXAMPLE AFTER JUDGE WHO IS EVEN TEMPERED AND TREATS EVERYONE WITH KINDNESS, FROM THE CLEANING CREW TO THE OTHER JUSTICES. HE HAS AN INCREDIBLE WORTH ETHIC AND LEADS BY EXAMPLE. EVERY OPINION THAT LEAVES HIS CHAMBERS REFLECTS HOURS OF HARD WORK, AND I HAVE GUN TO READ THESE THINGS, TRYING FIGURE OUT WHAT GOES ON OVER HERE, AND I CAN TELL THAT YOU IT IS INTENSE WORK AND DONE WITH DILIGENCE AND WITH RESPECT FOR THE OFFICE, THE JOB THAT HE HOLDS, THAT IS QUITE REMARKABLE, AND I KNOW THAT HE WILL GIVE EVERYBODY THAT COMES IN HERE A FAIR SHAKE, WHICH FIRST AND FOREMOST IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT THE SUPREME COURT DOES. JUSTICE WELLS MAKES SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THEY WORK WITH HIM, NOT FOR HIM. IN FACT, ALL OF HIS FORMER LAW CLERKS ARE HERE, WITH HIM, TO SHARE THIS DAY, AND I KNOW THAT THEY WOULD SAY THE SAME THING. CHARLIE, I KNOW YOU CAME FROM A FAMILY OF JUDGES, AND I KNOW THAT YOUR GRANDAD IS PRETTY PROUD OF YOU RIGHT NOW, AND YOU CONTINUE THE TRADITION WITH SONS AS LAWYERS. ONLY SHELLY WAS SMART ENOUGH TO GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. THE WELLS CONTINUE TO BE A LEGAL TRADITION IN OUR STATE. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE]

I KNOW THAT MOST OF YOU ARE HERE TO HONOR CHARLIE WELLS AND APPROPRIATELY SO, BUT I HOPE THAT YOU WILL INDULGE ME JUST A FEW COMMENTS. AS I PREPARE TO HAND OVER THE GAVEL OF CHIEF JUSTICE TO MY FRIEND, CHARLIE WELLS, I CANNOT HELP BUT LOOK BACK OVER THESE LAST TWO YEARS AND WONDER HOW QUICKLY THEY HAVE PASSED. AS I BEGAN MY TIME AS CHIEF JUSTICE, IT WAS MY DREAM THAT, THROUGH THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF ALL OF US IN THE BRANCH, WE COULD BUILD AND STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN WHAT WE DO. THE EFFORT FOR PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT WE, WITHIN THE BRANCH, ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE, NOT AT THE SACRIFICE OF OUR INDEPENDENCE BUT, CERTAINLY, THAT WE BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE RESOURCES APPROPRIATED TO US. AND IN THAT REGARD, WE HAVE WORKED HARD TO ACCOMMODATE THE MANDATES OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LEGISLATURE IN REGARD TO NEW BUDGETING REQUIREMENTS AND EVEN IN CHANGING THE WAY WE DETERMINE THE NEED FOR NEW JUDGES. OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE IMPROVED ACCESS TO THE COURTS, BY ENHANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. OUR WEB SITE IS SECOND TO NONE, AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY THE PUBLIC, IN MY VIEW, IS TRULY REMARKABLE. OFTEN A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND -- LEADS TO A LACK OF TRUST, AND THIS WEB PAGE IS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY, FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, WHICH ULTIMATELY HELP IN BUILDING PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. WE, IN THIS BRANCH, ARE DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO HELP UNREPRESENTED LITIGANTS GET IN AND THROUGH THE COURT SYSTEM, THROUGH THE DEPENDENCY, IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. WE HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES IN PROVIDING BETTER SERVICES TO OUR CHILDREN IN NEED, AND JUSTICE WELLS WILL BE CARRYING ON THIS EFFORT IN CONNECTION WITH A DELINQUENCY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, TO STUDY THE DPLIFRY OF SERVICES TO OUR DELINQUENCY JURISDICTION. WE HAVE INCREASED OUR AWARENESS OF DIVERSITY IN THE BRANCH AND MADE SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT MINORITIES ARE A PART OF THE WORK FORCE, AND WE HAVE THIS JURY STUDY THAT WAS MENTIONED, TO HELP DETERMINE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO UTILIZE JURORS, TO MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE AND TO HELP THEM MAKE BETTER DECISIONS. I HAVE, THIS MONTH, CELEBRATED 32 YEARS BEING A JUDGE. OVER THOSE YEARS AND THE PAST TWO YEARS, IN PARTICULAR, I HAVE BEEN MADE ALL THE MORE CONSCIOUS THAT THE MAINTAINING AND INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF BUILDING PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. THAT INDEPENDENCE RECOGNIZES THE SEPARATE AND THE INDEPENDENT ROLE OF EACH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT AND, AS WAS PREVIOUSLY NOTED, THE COOPERATION OF THOSE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT, FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE THAT THEY SERVE. AND THE FACT THAT ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT ARE HERE ON THIS OCCASION IS A REFLECTION OF THAT COOPERATION FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL. AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY IS NOT AN ARROGANT JUDICIARY, BUT ONE WHOSE JUDGMENT IS REASONED, WHO FOLLOWS PRECEDENT WHERE APPROPRIATE, IS NOT SELF-SERVING, AND IS A JUDICIARY FREE FROM BIAS AND PREJUDICE. A STUDY OF OUR HISTORY WILL SHOW THAT A JUDICIARY BE HOLDING TO THE KING AND, THUS, NOT FREE AND INDEPENDENT, WAS ONE OF THE GRIEVANCES CONTAINED IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. AND IN THE EARLY NINETIES, WE, AT THE COURT, HAD DELEGATIONS FROM EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHO CAME HERE, TRYING TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN CONSTITUTIONS IN THEIR COUNTRIES, PREVIOUSLY AND REACH FREE FROM THE OPPRESSION OF COMMUNIST REGIMES. THE CONCEPT THAT A JUDGE COULD BE INDEPENDENT TO MAKE A DECISION, WITHOUT PRIOR CONSULTATION OF THE PARTY BOSS, WAS A FOREIGN CONCEPT, DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO COMPREHEND. JANE AND I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING TO HUNGARY LAST YEAR, AND WE TAUGHT A GROUP OF TEACHERS HOW TO TEACH ABOUT THE COURT SYSTEM AND THEIR CONSTITUTION TO THEIR STUDENTS. AND I WAS PLEASED TO NOTE THAT THE CONSTITUTION IN HUNGARY CONTAINS A SPECIFIC PROVISION CALLING FOR AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY. ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY THAT THE WILL AND INTENT OF OUR FOUNDERS, WHICH HAS BEEN MENTIONED EARLIER, AS EXPRESSED IN THE CONSTITUTION, WAS THAT THEIR POSTERT WOULD LIVE IN A FREE AND ORDERED SOCIETY. AND TO CARRY OUT THIS WILL, OUR SOCIETY SHOULD BE BASED ON A RULE OF LAW, WHOSE FOUNDATION IS THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH ALL JUDGES AND ALL PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE SWORN TO UPHOLD. I AM HAPPY TO LIVE IN AMERICA, AND I AM HAPPY TO LIVE IN FLORIDA, WHERE THE RULE OF LAW PREVAILS. IF WE ARE TO REMAIN A FREE AND ORDERED SOCIETY, WE MUST CONTINUE THIS TRADITION OF OUR FOUNDERS. I COULD NOT PASS THIS DAY, WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THESE PASS THE TWO YEARS A PLEASURE. -- WHO HAVE MADE THESE PAST TWO YEARS A FLASH. I GIVE SPECIAL THANKS TO THE CLERK AND, FOR A PORTION OF THAT TIME, A ACTING CLERK, AND THEIR STAFF. THE MARSHAL AND HIS STATE OF, THE LIBRARIAN AND HER STAFF, AND THE STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR AND HIS STAFF, AND WITHOUT ALL OF THESE IN THE THE BRANCH, IT COULD NOT FUNCTION. AND I GIVE OLYMPIAN THANKS TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR PERSONAL STAFF, WHO HAVE MADE THESE TWO YEARS A SPECIAL JOY. SUSAN O' HALERIN AND MY STAFF ATTORNEYS, MY JUDICIAL ASSISTANT FOR MANY YEARS, HELEN WEST, JUDICIAL ASSISTANTS NANCY SHUFORD AND PAT MADDEN, CRAIG WATERS, A PERSONAL INFORMATION OFFICER, AND JIM LOWE, THE OPINION CLERK. AND I, ALSO, GIVE A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES, WHO HAVE ALLOWED ME THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING CHIEF JUSTICE THESE PAST TWO YEARS. AND I WANT TO TAKE A PERSONAL NOTE OF THE PRIVILEGE THAT IT HAS BEEN FOR ME TO SERVE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, THE DEAN OF THE COURT, LEANDER SHAW. FORT YEARS AGO, IN THIS VERY COURTROOM, WE WERE SWORN INTO THE FLORIDA BAR. OUR PATHS CROSSED IN JACKSONVILLE, OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE YEARS, AS WELL AS THE PAST NINE YEARS ON THE COURT. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I RULED ON HIS CASES, WHEN HE WAS A LAWYER AND I WAS A JUDGE IN JACKSONVILLE. THEN THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE RULED ON MY CASES, WHEN HE WAS AN APPELLATE JUDGE, AND, LEE, I AM PARTICULARLY PROUD OF OUR FRIENDSHIP, AND ESPECIALLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR WISE COUNSEL DURING THE PAST TWO YEARS. AND FINALLY, I WAS BLESSED TO BE BORN IN A HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH, WHERE I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS LOVED, NOT ONLY BY MY PARENTS AND FAMILY BUT BY GOD. I WAS GIVEN A WONDERFUL EDUCATION, THE BLESSINGS OF A WONDERFUL CAREER AS A LAWYER AND A JUDGE, AND THE BLESSINGS OF GOOD FRIENDS WITH WHOM TO WORK AND PLAY, AND WHO COULD HAVE BEEN MORE BLESSED THAN I TO HAVE A WONDERFUL FRIEND, WHOSE LIFE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE FOR THE LAST 41 AND-A-HALF YEARS. MY WIFE, JANE. JANE, WOULD YOU STAND. [APPLAUSE] AND TO ADD TO THAT, THREE REMARKABLE CHILDREN, WHO HAVE FORGIVEN ALL THE MISTAKES I MADE IN THEIR CHILDHOOD, AND HAVE GROWN UP TO BE MY BEST FRIENDS, MARRIED WONDERFUL SPOUSES, AND GIVEN JANE AND ME THE BLESSINGS OF EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN, AND FOR THOSE THAT ARE HERE, I WOULD ASK MY CHILDREN, THEIR SPOUSES AND THOSE GRANDCHILDREN HERE TO PLEASE STAND. [APPLAUSE] I AM, INDEED, THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THE LIFE HE HAS GIVEN ME. WHEN I TOOK THIS OFFICE, I PROMISED THAT I WOULD DO MY BEST, AND IF IT COULD BE SAID OF ME AT THE END I DID JUSTICE, I LOVED MERCY, AND I WALKED HUMBLY WITH MY GOD, I WOULD CONSIDER THAT I WAS SUCCESSFUL. BUT WHATEVER THE VERDICT, IT HAS BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE. BUT ENOUGH OF THIS. THIS IS CHARLIE WELLS' DAY, AND IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO CALL UPON JUDGE BELVIN PERRY OF THE NINTH CIRCUIT IN ORLANDO, TO UNVEIL THE MYSTERY OF OUR INCOMING CHIEF JUSTICE. [LAUGHTER]

MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. CHIEF JUSTICE HARDING, JUSTICES, THE SUPREME COURT, GOVERNOR BUSH, SENATE PRESIDENT TONI JENNINGS, SPEAKER THRASHER, ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH, AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS AND FRIENDS OF JUSTICE WELLS. BEFORE I START MY REMARKS, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS. CHIEF JUSTICE HARDING, ON BEHALF OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE TRIAL COURTS OF THIS STATE, WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR SINCERE THANKS AND APPRECIATION FOR YOUR SERVICE AS CHIEF JUSTICE. IT HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID THAT GRATITUDE IS THE THANKS OF THE HEART, AND YOU HAVE OUR HEARTFELT THANKS, NOT ONCE, BUT 1,000 TIMES. TO US YOU HAVE BEEN MORE THAN A LEADER. YOU HAVE BEEN OUR FRIEND. YOU HAVE BEEN OUR CONFIDANTE, AND FOR THAT WE SAY THANKS. IT IS A HIGH PRIVILEGE AND A DISTINCT HONOR TO BE HERE, IN THIS HALLOWED PLACE OF JUSTICE TODAY, TO SAY A FEW WORDS ON THE OFFICE OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT, AND A FEW WORDS ABOUT A MAN OF VISION, A MAN WHO IS HIGHLY-RESPECTED BY THE TRIAL JUDGES AND LAWYERS OF THIS STATE, AND A MAN WHO EMBODIES EVERYTHING THAT IS HELD SACRED BY THE GREAT PEOPLE OF THIS STATE. IT HAS OFTEN BEEN ASKED WHAT IS THE OFFICE OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT? THE COMMON VIEW IS THAT THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT IS THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE COURTS OF THIS STATE. THE CHIEF JUSTICE IS MORE THAN ACHIEVE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER. THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT IS THE HEAD OF THE THIRD BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, THE JUDICIARY. THE CHIEF JUSTICE, LIKE THE GOVERNOR, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE AND PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, ARE CHARGED, IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ROLES, TO ENSURE THAT WE HOLD TRUE TO THE WORDS CONTAINED IN THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION, THE PREAMBLE, AND THE LAWS OF THIS STATE. THE SIMPLE BUT PROFOUND WORDS TO THE PREAMBLE TO THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION PROVIDES WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, HAVE BEEN GRATEFUL TO ALMIGHTY GOD FOR OUR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES, IN ORDER TO SECURE ITS BENEFITS, PERFECT OUR GOVERNMENT, ENSURE DOMESTIC TRANK QUILT, MAINTAIN PEACE, ORDER, AND GUARANTEE EQUAL CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS TO ALL, DO OR DANE AND -- OR DANE AND ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF THIS GOVERNMENT IS THE CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDIAN OF THE MANDATE CONTAINED IN THAT CONSTITUTION. THIS INCOMING CHIEF JUSTICE, CHARLES T. WELLS, WILL LEAD THIS BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT AT A TIME UNIQUE IN HISTORY. A TIME WHICH WILL SET THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION FROM LOCAL FUNDING OF THE COURTS TO STATE FUNDING, AS MANDATED BY REVISION 7. THIS TRANSITION WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE COURTS OF THIS STATE WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DELIVER THE SERVICES NECESSARY TO DO THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA AT A LEVEL BEFITTING THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT STATE. THIS VOYAGE TOWARDS FULL STATE FUNDING IS AN UNKNOWN VOYAGE, FILLED WITH MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. DHEEF JUSTICE HARDING, YOU HAVE -- CHIEF JUSTICE HARDING, YOU HAVE LEFT US ALL WITH A STRONG FOUNDATION TO BUILD ON, AS WE LEAVE PORT TO HEAD OUT TO THE HIGH SEAS, TO START THIS VOYAGE. THIS VOYAGE, TOWARDS FULL STATE FUNDING AND OTHER ISSUES THAT FACE THIS BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, WE CHOOSE NEITHER THE VESSEL OR WE WILL SAIL WHEREVER, BUT WE KNOW THAT MUCH CAN BE DONE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SAILS AND THE GUIDANCE OF THE HELM. IF THE -- AT THE HELM OF THIS BRANCH OF STATE, THIS GOVERNMENT, WILL BE CHARLES T. WELLS. JUSTICE WELLS IS A MAN OF VISION WHO KNOWS CLEARLY THAT HAVING A CLEAR IMAGE OF THE GOAL IS AN INDISPENSIBLE STEP TOWARDS ACHIEVING IT. HE IS A MAN OF STRENGTH AND INTEGRITY. JUSTICE WELLS IS A MAN THAT WOULD NEVER, NEVER FORGET THE POOR, THE DOWNTRODDEN AND THE LEAST AMONG US. HE IS A MAN THAT WILL NOT LET US FORGET THAT JUSTICE, THOUGH DUE TO THE ACCUSER, IS, ALSO, DUE TO VICTIMS OF CRIMES. HE IS A MAN OF KNOWLEDGE, AND HE IS A MAN OF WISDOM. HE IS A FAMILY MAN, AND HE IS A MAN OF FAITH. HE IS A MAN WHOSE FAMILY HAS LEFT ITS FOOTPRINT IN THE SANDS OF TIME FOR THEIR SERVICES TO THIS STATE AND TO THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID WE MAKE ALIVING BY WHAT WE GET. WE MAKE A LIFE BY WHAT WE GIVE. JUSTICE WELLS, AND HIS FAMILY, HAVE CERTAINLY MADE A LIFE BY WHAT THEY HAVE GIVEN TO THIS COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE AND BAR SERVICE. WE, THE TRIAL JUDGES OF THIS STATE, KNOW THAT JUSTICE WELLS, AT THE HELM OF THE SHIP, THAT WE WILL SAIL SERENELY ON IN CALM SEAS OR IN A GREAT TEMPEST. IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT LEADERS ARE THE CUSTODIANS OF A NATION'S IDEALS, OF THE BELIEFS IT CHERISHES, OF ITS PERMANENT HOPE OF THE FAITH WHICH MAKES A NATION OUT OF A MERE AGOGATION OF INDIVIDUALS. LADIES, CHARLES T. WELLS, THE 49th CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT, IS A LEADER, AND WITH THAT WE LOOK, WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION, AND WE SAY GOD SPEED AND GOD BLESS THIS HONORABLE COURT. [APPLAUSE]

THE TRANSITION OF POWER IN OUR REPUBLIC HAS LONG BEEN NOTED FOR THE PEACEFUL MANNER IN WHICH IT IS ACCOMPLISHED. WE MARK THESE TRANSITIONS WITH CEREMONIES, SUCH AS THE ONE YOU ARE WITNESSING HERE TODAY, AND THROUGH THESE CEREMONIES, THEMSELVES, THOUGH THEY ARE ONLY EVENTS ORGANIZED BY PEOPLE, THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO US, BECAUSE OF THE LOFTIER IDEALS THEY SYMBOLIZE. THEY REMIND US THAT, EVEN WE WHO HOLD THESE OFFICES, ARE MERELY SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA, AND TO THE ETERNAL RULE OF LAW THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED. THE OATH YOU ARE ABOUT TO TAKE, JUSTICE WELLS, IS BASED ON THE OATH FOR PUBLIC OFFICES, SET OUT IN ARTICLE II, SECTION 5 OF OUR CONSTITUTION. AT ITS CORE IS OUR STATE CONSTITUTION AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. THIS IS ALTOGETHER FITTING AND APPROPRIATE FOR THE FIRST SENTENCE OF OUR STATE CONSTITUTION DECLARES ALL POWER IS INHERENT IN THE PEOPLE. WE, THEREFORE, KNOW THAT IT IS THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA, ALL OF THEM, WHO HAVE GIVEN TO THE SUPREME COURT THE COURT'S JUDICIAL POWER AND TO THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT, THE POWER TO BE THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF OUR STATE. THIS IS POWER GIVEN TO THIS COURT AND TO THIS CHIEF JUSTICE, IN SAKE RETRUST, THAT IT WILL -- IN SACRED TRUST, THAT IT WILL BE USED FAIRLY, JUSTLY, AND EQUALLY FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA, AND IT BEING DULY NOTED THAT MY TENURE AS CHIEF JUSTICE, HAVING COME TO AN END, I RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT JUSTICE WELLS RISE AND JOIN ME FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF FLORIDA, AND I ASK THAT THE MARSHAL ESCORT LINDA WELLS TO THE BENCH. PLEASE YOUR LEFT HAND ON THE BIBLE AND RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME. I, CHARLES T. WELLS, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR, THAT I WILL PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. [REPEATED BY JUSTICE WELLS] AND OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. THAT I AM DULY-QUALIFIED TO HOLD OFFICE, UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE, AND THAT I?7?n WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY PERFORM THE DUTIES OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA, SO HELP ME GOD. [REPEATED BY CHIEF JUSTICE WELLS] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE]

IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO GIVE, TO YOU, THE GAVEL OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. [APPLAUSE] [LAUGHTER] THE MARSHAL: PLEASE RISE. HEAR YE. HEAR YE. HEAR YE. THE SUPREME COURT OF THE GREAT STATE OF FLORIDA IS NOW IN SESSION. THE HONORABLE CHIEF JUSTICE CHARLES T. WELLS PRESIDING. ALL WHO HAVE CAUSE TONi 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, PLEASE BE SEATED. [GAVEL THUDZ] [LAUGHTER]

AS PRESIDENT JENNINGS SAID, YOU HAVE GOT TO DO WHAT THE SCRIPT SAYS, RIGHT? [LAUGHTER] I WANT, TO BEGIN WITH, TRULY, A HEARTFELT TRIBUTE TO, FOLLOWING THE WORDS OF MANY SPEAKERS, MY FRIEND, SPEAKER THRASHER, TO OUR OUTGOING CHIEF JUSTICE AND OUR FIRST LADY JANE HARDING. YOU KNOW, THEY ARE OUR DEAR FRIENDS. IN THE SIX YEARS THAT LINDA AND I HAVE GROWN TO KNOW MAJOR AND JANE, WE HAVE COME TO KNOW A COUPLE WHO, IN THEIR HEART AND IN THEIR SOUL, IN THE VERY BEST WAYS, WANT TO AND TRY TO DO GOD'S WORK, EACH AND EVERYDAY. MAJOR AND JANE SERVICE ALL WITH FAIRNESS, KINDNESS, DIGNITY, AND LOVE, EACH AND EVERYDAY FOR WHICH WE, AS A COURT, AND ALL FLORIDIANS, ARE DEEPLY IN THEIR DEBT, AND I GIVE, TO HIM, MY LOVE AND TRIBUTE TODAY. [APPLAUSE] I WANT TO SAY, AT THE OUTSET, THAT I AM TRULY APPRECIATIVE OF THE REMARKS THAT -- BY EACH OF OUR SPEAKERS TODAY, BECAUSE THEY CERTAINLY MEAN A GREAT DEAL TO ME. I THINK MY GOOD FRIEND, BELVIN PERRY, WHO IS A VERY SPECIAL FRIEND, AND WHOM I HAVE LEANED AND WILL CONTINUE TO LEAN FOR ADVICE, AS I MOVE INTO THIS POSITION. I, NOW, CALL ON THE MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY FOR SOME BRIEF REMARKS. THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH I KNOW NOT. [LAUGHTER] AND SO, ASHLEY WELLS AND DR. SHELLY AND BILL COLLINS AND TALLY AND LAURA WELLS, PLEASE APPROACH THE ROSTRUM AND ACT WITH DIGNITY, PLEASE. [LAUGHTER]

HE IS SO NERVOUS. DAD, MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE BEEN DOING THAT MY WHOLE LIFE. [LAUGHTER] I HAVE ARGUED MANY CASES BEFORE THIS COURT. OVER SIX YEARS AGO, TALLY AND SHELLY AND MOM AND I WERE SITTING IN OUR LIVING ROOM, IN ORLANDO, WHEN DAD ASKED US WHAT WE THOUGHT ABOUT HIM PUTTING HIS NAME UP TO JOIN THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. OF COURSE AT FIRST WE WERE, LIKE, YOU ARE KIDDING, RIGHT? BUT WE DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY, AS A FAMILY. WE DISCUSSED ALL THE PROS OF WHAT A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY THAT WOULD BE, AND WE, ALSO, DISCUSSED THE CONS OF LEAVING OUR WONDERFUL, BELOVED HOME IN WINDERMERE AND ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN CENTRAL THAT -- IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, AND WE WONDERED WHY HE WANTED TO MOVE TO A PLACE THAT WE HAD ALWAYS BEEN RAISED TO SEE AS ENEMY TERRITORY. IT WAS VERY STRANGE. BUT IN THE END, WE, AS A FAMILY, IN OUR LIVING ROOM, DECIDED THAT IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE COULD JUST NOT PASS UP, AND JUST AS WE MADE THAT DECISION TOGETHER, IN OUR LIVING ROOM IN WINDERMERE, OVER SIX YEARS AGO, WE JOINED TOGETHER, AS A FAMILY, TODAY, TO CELEBRATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR FATHER OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, AND WE JOIN TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THIS NEW ENDEAVOUR AS CHIEF JUSTICE. MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. AS ASHLEY WAS SAYING, IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY SHORT TIME AGO THAT WE WERE ALL HERE, TOGETHER, CELEBRATING THE APPOINTMENT 6 OUR FATHER -- APPOINTMENT OF OUR FATHER TO THE HONORED POSITION OF JUSTICE OF FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. I DON'T THINK THAT THERE HAD BEEN A TIME, IN OUR DAD'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER, WHERE WE FELT THAT HE WAS MORE SUITED TO A POSITION, UNTIL TODAY. HE HAS, ALWAYS, LIVED HIS LIFE TO UPHOLD THE LAWS OF THIS STATE AND OF THE UNITED STATES. HIS HONESTY AND FORTHRIGHTNESS ARE ADMIRABLE, ALTHOUGH DO GET HIM IN TROUBLE AT THE DINNER TABLE. HE IS A ROLE MODEL, PROFESTNALLY, FOR MY BROTHER TALLY AND MY SISTER, ASHLEY, AND HE IS A ROLE MODEL, PERSONALLY, FOR ALL THREE OF US. NOT ONLY THAT, HE IS AN AMAZING FATHER AND HUSBAND. WE FEEL ESPECIALLY LUCKY TO SHAFER IN THIS -- TO SHARE IN THIS DAY WITH MY FATHER AND MY MOTHER. RECENTLY, WHEN WE WERE ALL TOGETHER AT THE BEACH, IT WAS DECIDED THAT WE NEEDED TO COMMEMORATE THIS DAY IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY, SO WHAT DO YOU GIVE TO THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING? UNLIKE JUSTICE HARDING, WHO SPORTS HIS BOWTIES, OUR FATHER TYPICALLY DONS HIS GRAY SOX AND WHITE Kmart SHOES AND WALKS AROUND. [LAUGHTER] BUT TO MY MOTHER'S GREAT CHAGRIN, HE ALREADY HAS SIX OR SEVEN PAIRS. AND WE COULDN'T BUY HIM ANOTHER COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY T-SHIRT. HE ALREADY HAS THEM FROM THE 11 MAJOR UNIVERSITIES THAT WE AND OUR SPOUSES HAVE ATTENDED, ALL IN GRAY. OF COURSE. YOU CAN'T, REALLY, BUY HIM ANYTHING GATOR, BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAS EVERYTHING, FROM A CEMENT GATOR THAT LAYS IN THE FRONT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, TO A SMALL REPLICAS OF FLORIDA FIELD THAT SITS IN HIS OFFICE, TO AN ORANGE AND BLUE JUDGE'S ROBE, WHICH THANKFULLY HE DID NOT WEAR TODAY. [LAUGHTER] SO WE DECIDED ON A GIFT THAT WE COULD ALL ADMIRE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. A PORTRAIT, SO, DAD, IF YOU COULD PLEASE, TALLY IS GOING TO BRING YOU YOUR PORTRAIT, AND IF YOU COULD PLEASE UNVEIL IT AND KNOW THAT IT IS GIVEN WITH MUCH LOVE AND ADMIRATION FROM YOUR CHILDREN.

DAD, IT IS OUR HOPE THAT THIS PORTRAIT MAY MAKE THE WALL OF JUSTICE.

REMEMBER I HAVE A HARD CONDITION. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE]

WELL, AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE BEEN BLESSED IN WORDS THAT I CAN'T SAY, BY A WONDERFUL FAMILY, AND LED BY MY IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AND MY NUMBER ONE LOVE OF MY LIFE, LINDA, WHO -- [APPLAUSE] I AM GOING TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES, AND I, CERTAINLY, RECOGNIZE THE DISCOMFORT OF BEING CRAMMED IN WHERE YOU ARE, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM OVERWHELMED BY THE PRESENCE OF EACH ONE OF YOU, AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND TAKING TIME FROM YOUR BUSY LIVES TO BE WITH US MEANS TO ME, TO LINDA, AND TO MY FAMILY. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL EACH OF YOUR NAMES AND SALUTE YOU, BECAUSE EACH OF YOU HAVE SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY LIFE. I WILL, FOR THE SAKE OF COMFORT, REFRAIN FROM DOING THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TALK, A LITTLE, ABOUT THE GROUP'S -- THE GROUPS THAT HAVE MADE THIS JOURNEY WITH ME FOR ALL OF MY CHILDHOOD AND LIFE, IN MANY INSTANCES, AND, CERTAINLY, MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE. I WOULD LIKE TO, FIRST, ASK THE PEOPLE SITTING HERE, IN THE WELL, LINDA'S BROTHER AND SISTER AND THEIR FAMILIES, TO STAND, BECAUSE THEY ARE HERE, JOINING IN THE OCCASION. [APPLAUSE] MY COUSINSco FROM MY MOTHER'S FAMILY, THE TALLYS, AND DAVID HERBSTER ARE SITTING DOWN HERE. MY COUSINS FROM MY DAD'S FAMILY. THE WISES, THE WELLS, THE SHIFFERS, AND MY DAUGHTER, SHELLY'S MOTHER AND FATHER FATHER-IN-LAW, BOB AND SUE COLLINS. WOULD YOU ALL PLEASE STAND. [APPLAUSE] I WANT TO SAY, AND RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF RHEA CHILES AND HER DAUGHTER, TANDY BARRETT. YOU KNOW, IT WAS THE FAITH OF GOVERNOR LAWTON CHILES, RHEA AND TANDY, TANDY, LINDA AND I KNEW IN ORLANDO, THAT THEY HAD IN ME AND IN LINDA, THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE HERE. I AM CERTAINLY -- APPRECIATE NOT ONLY THEIR BEING HERE BUT THEIR VERY GRAND FRIENDSHIP THAT THEY HAVE EXTENDED TO US OVER MANY, MANY YEARS. [APPLAUSE] I AM HONORED BY BOB, THE COMPTROLLER, BOB MILLIE CAN, BEING HERE, AND THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE. I SEE REPRESENTATIVE GOODLETTE, AND I KNOW SENATOR DYER AND OTHER MAPS OF THE LEGISLATURE -- AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE WHO ARE HERE. I PARTICULARLY WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS A LARGE GROUP OF FRIENDS WHO ARE HERE FROM ORLANDO, A GROUP OF OLD BOONE BRAVES AND CHEROKEE JR. HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATES, AND, GOVERNOR, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A TIME-TESTED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE [LAUGHTER] FOR THIS PACK CAME TOGETHER IN THE FALL OF 1953, TO RUN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT COUNSEL AT CHEROKEE JR. HIGH SCHOOL [APPLAUSE] AND THEY HAVE BEEN WITH ME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, EVER SINCE, AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE COME SO FAR FROM ORLANDO, INCLUDING MY FORMER LONG-TIME LAW PARTNERS, WALLY HALLOWS AND DONNA AND DARYL CARPENTER. THOSE ARE HERE FROM OUR OLD FIRM RAYMOND MAGUIRE OVER HERE, MAGUIRE, VOOR HIS AND WELLS. MY OLD FRIENDS, THE GATOR FOOTBALL CROWD. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE SITTING. WE CALL OURSELVES THE OF'S. I WILL LEAVE IT ON -- THE O-F'S, AND I WILL LEAVE IT TO YOUR IMAGINATION TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO THIS DAY. THERE IS A GROUP THAT IS HERE AND WAS WITH ME AT THE PHI DELTA PHETA HOUSE, AND THOSE WHO WERE WITH ME AT LAW SCHOOL, INCLUDING MY FORMER ROOMMATE AND FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, HYATT BROWN, AND HIS WIFE, CECE, AND HYATT, I AM SURE, HAS THE CENTURY-OLD RECORD FOR THE SLOPPYES ROOM IN THE PHI DELTA PHETA HOUSE, AND I RECOGNIZE THE PASTORS WHO HAVE ADMINISTERED TO OUR FAMILIES AT METHODIST CHURCHES IN ORLANDO, WINDERMERE, TALLAHASSEE, WHO HAVE BEEN OUR CLOSE FRIENDS AND WHO HAVE PRAYED FOR OUR GATOR SOULS, ALL ALONG THE WAY. JEAN AND EMILY ANN ZIMMERMAN AND JIM AND MARSHA HARNISH AND BILL AND KIM BARNES AND BILL AND SANDRA WILTON AND OUR PRESENT MINISTERS HERE, AT TRINITY, PLUS MANY MEMBERS FROM OUR CHURCHES AND OUR OLD SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS, AND I WOULD BE REMISS FOR NOT THANKING OUR FRIENDS HERE, IN TALLAHASSEE, WHO HAVE TAKEN US IN, THE LAST SIX YEARS, LIKE WE HAVE LIVED IN TALLAHASSEE ALL OF OUR LIVES, AS I SAY, DEEP BEHIND ENEMY LINES. PRESENT ARE THE STAFF OF THE FLORIDA LEGAL SERVICES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP LINE, WITH WHOM LINDA WORKS ON A DAILY BASIS, AS A VOLUNTEER. THERE IS THE MEMBERS THAT I SERVED WERE ON THE BOARD OF THE DIRECTORS, THE ORANGE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION, HE WILL WIZ FOX, WHO -- ELOISE FOX, WHO IS THE LONG TIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND THEN ON THE FLORIDA BAR BOARD OF GOVERNORS. I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE AT LEAST SEVEN FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE FLORIDA BAR HERE. JACK HARKNESS AND THE BAR STAFF, WHO ARE HERE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE STAUNCHLY IN THE WORK OF THE FLORIDA BAR. AND I COME TO THIS POSITION AS A PERSON WHO IS PROUD TO HAVE SPENT MY CAREER AS A WORK-A-DAY LAWYER, AND AS A PRODUCT OF THE FLORIDA BAR, AND WE HAVE, AS SOMEONE MENTIONED, SITTING BACK HERE, IN THE CRAMMED ROW, THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED TO KEEP ME ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW, SINCE I SET FOOT IN THIS COURT, MY OFFICE STAFF, KELLY O'KEEFE AND ASHLEY FROST AND JUSTIN FEINBERG AND BETSY DAILY AND ARTHUR LEWIS, CANDY SLYMAN AND HUNTER, CAROL HERNANDEZ ARE WITH ME AT PRESENT, AND ESPECIALLY TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I GOT HERE, I WAS LUCKY NOT TO BE ARRESTED AFTER ABOUT A WEEK, BECAUSE I HAD STOLE THE MOST VALUABLE THING THAT THE FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS HAD OR COULD HAVE IN MY JUDICIAL ASSISTANT PAM BLACKWELL WHO, IS RIGHT OVER HERE. AND WHO, AS YOU, ALSO, HEARD, WE HAVE A LARGE SUPPORT STAFF IN THIS COURT WHO ARE ALL SO HELPFUL TO ME. TOM HALL AND WILSON BARNES, WHO PARKED A LOT OF CARS LAST NIGHT, AND OUR LIBRARIAN, JOAN CANON AND THEIR STAFFS, AND THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION, WHICH IS SECOND TO NONE IN THIS COUNTRY, STATE OR FEDERAL. IN THIS COURT WE HAVE MANY JUDGES FROM OUR DISTRICT, COUNTY, CIRCUIT COURT. MY FORMER ASSOCIATE. WE EVEN SNUCK A FEDERAL JUDGE IN HERE. JUDGE CONWAY. AND YOU KNOW, IN MY SIX YEARS ON THE BENCH, I HAVE COME TO KNOW MANY UNSUNG HEROES IN OUR JUDICIAL SERVICE, UPON WHOM I HAVE GROWN TO DEPEND, IN MANY WAYS, AND UPON WHOM I AM INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT, AS I SET ABOUT THE TASK OF THIS WELL, AND IN THIS WELL IS A GROUP OF DISTINGUISHED FLORIDIANS I ESPECIALLY FOCUS UPON, THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. THIS GROUP, AS WELL AS THE OTHER JUDGES WHO ARE HERE, LED FLORIDA'S JUDICIARY THE PAST CENTURY, IN WHIC SO DRAMATIC AND SO SWIFT THAT IT CAN ONLY BE MARV HE WOULD AT AS -- MARV HE WOULD AT AS SUCCESSFULLY AWESOME. THE PURPOSE AND LIVES HAVE NAVIGATED FLORIDA'S COURTS FROM A CENTURY-LONG TRADITION FROM A SWAMPLAND TO A MODERN AND DIVERSE MEETING A STATE, AND IT IS, REALLY, THEIR SUPERIOR WORK, IN FOSTERING AND BUILDING A FLORIDA UPON THE FOUNDATION OF FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE OF ALL FLORIDIANS THAT IS, REALLY, THE CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION TODAY, FOR IT IS THEY WHO HAVE BROUGHT TO THIS DAY AND TO THIS PLACE A COURT SYSTEM THAT IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT AMERICAS BEING SUPERIOR, AS BEING INNOVATIVE, EFFECTIVE, IN WHICH, BY ITS DAY-TO-DAY WORK IS WORTHY OF THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE. MY FAMILY, AND I, PERSONALLY, HAVE BEEN TRULY PRESSED TO HAVE BEEN PARTICIPANTS IN FLORIDA'S LEGAL SYSTEM, THROUGHOUT THAT CENTURY. WE ARE FLORIDIANS. WE HAVE MUCH SAND IN OUR SHOES, BECAUSE OUR WORK AS LAWYERS AND JUDGES HAVE SPANNED A CENTURY. IT IS WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMILITY THAT I BEGIN MY TERM, TODAY, ON AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY BN MY FAMILY -- WITHIN MY FAMILY, BECAUSE EXACTLY 100 YEARS AGO, IN 1900, MY GRANDFATHER, JOEL WELLS, WAS AND INLTED AND -- WAS APPOINTED AND BEGAN SERVING AS COUNTY JUBLING -- AS COUNTY JUDGE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, AND I CAN NOT HELP BUT CONJURE YOU MEAN IMAGES OF THE FLORIDA THAT HE FACED, AND I CAN NOT HELP BUT BE AWED, WHEN I COMPARE THOSE IMAGES TO THE FLORIDA I SEE HERE TODAY AND WHICH IS LITERALLY WATCHING THESE PROCEEDINGS, VIA SATELLITE AND INTERNET BROADCAST. I HAVE REAL MEMORIES AND PERSONAL AWARENESS OF THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF JUDGE RICHARD IRVIN, WITH WHOM MY FATHER WAS IN LAW SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN THE 1920s. I KNOW WELL HOW WELL WE WERE SERVED BY JUSTICE IRVIN'S COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP AS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND ON THIS COURT, TOGETHER WITH JUSTICE STEVEN O'CONNELL AND JUSTICE CAMPBELL THORNALL, WHOSE DAUGHTER, LICI, IS HERE TODAY. THEY AND ANOTHER LAWYER WHOSE FAMILY ARE MY CLOSE FRIENDS, GOVERNOR LEROY COLLINS, BROUGHT US THROUGH THE TIME ULTIMATEUOUS PERIOD IN THE 1950s -- -- IN THE TUMULTUOUS PERIOD OF THE 1950s AND '60s, AND I HAVE MEMORY OF MY IMMEDIATE PREDECESSOR ON THE BENCH, JUSTICE PARKER LEE MacDODGE, FROM WHOM I LEARNED SO MANY -- MacDONALD, FROM WHOM I LEARNED SO MUCH, WHEN HE WAS A TRIAL JUDGE AND I WAS A YOUNG LAWYER. AND I HAVE COME TO KNOW THE SIGNIFICANT AND IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION WHICH WAS MADE TO OUR COURT BY JUSTICES BOYD AND JUSTICES JOE HATCHET AND ALAN SUNDBERG, WHO, AS THE SAYING GOES, THEY JUST KEEP ON GIVING, AND THEY DO, TODAY, AND YOU KNOW, I AM DEEPLY INDEBTED TO THE SERVICE OF JUSTICES STEVEN GRIMES AND BEN OVERTON, WHO WERE MY MENTORS, WHEN I BEGAN THIS JOB, AND FROM MY COLLEAGUE SITTING RIGHT HERE, LEANDER SHAW, WHO SERVED AS CHIEF JUSTICE BEFORE I ARRIVED, AND UPON WHOSE EXPERIENCE AND WISDOM AND GOOD JUDGMENT I CONTINUED TO RELY AND, OF COURSE, IN MY SERVICE WITH JUSTICE HARDING, WHO IS JUST LEAVING THE POSITION OF CHIEF JUSTICE. I COME TO THIS WORK, HUMBLED BUT WELL-TAUGHT BY REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES, WITH THE LIVES AND WORK OF THOSE WHO HAVE TRAVELED AND BLAZED THIS TRAIL. AND I CAN ONLY PLEDGE TO WORK TIRELESSLY TO CARRY ON THEIR GOOD WORKS RELENTLESS IN THE FURTHERANCE OF THE CAUSE OF EQUAL JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT I FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE DAUNTING CHALLENGES WHICH CONFRONT THE SYSTEM. WE ARE IN AWJU)/ OF DRAMATIC CHANGE, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED. WE DEAL WITH 21st CENTURY LIFE. WE LEAD A JUDICIARY COMPOSED OF 831 JUDGES AND OVER 66,000 LAWYERS, AND OUR COURTS MUST BE CAPABLE OF RENDERING ADVISED, FAIR AND TIMELY DECISIONS IN THIS URBANIZED, DIVERSE MEETING A STATE WHICH IS FLORIDA 2000. WE MUST, AND WE WILL, FRANKLY AND ENERGETICALLY, BATTLE THE COURT SYSTEMS WITH WHAT ARE DESCRIBED AS FOUR MAJOR PROBLEMS. THAT CASES TAKE TOO LONG THAT, CASES COST LITIGANTS TOO MUCH, THAT THE SYSTEM IS UNFAIR TO MINORITIES, AND THAT THE LACK OF PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE COURT SYSTEM. FOR INSTANCE THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ MY OPINIONS KNOW THAT I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN AND HIM COMMITTED TO TIMELINESS AND DECISION-MAKING AS A PRIORITY GOAL. I, VERY MUCH, BELIEVE THAT JUSTICE DELAYED IS OFTEN JUSTICE DENIED. I AM WELL-AWARE OF THE REALITY OF THE NUMBER OF INMATES WHO HAVE BEEN ON THE STATE, THIS STATE'S DEATH ROW SINCE THE 1970s AND '80s, AND I AM DEDICATED TO HAVING THOSE INDIVIDUAL CASES MOVED TO A JUST, FAIR, AND FINAL ADJUDICATION. WE HAVE MUCH, MUCH TO DO, AND I PLAN TO BE PROACTIVE IN DOING IT. AND FURTHERMORE, I AM COMMITTED TO AND WILL DEDICATE MY EFFORTS TO MAKING THE REAL NEEDS OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH KNOWN TO THE DECISION-MAKERS IN THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF OUR GOVERNMENT. THE NEXT TWO YEARS WILL BE WATERSHED YEARS, AS WE WORK WITH THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR TO CARRY OUT THE CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE THAT THE COURTS BE FULLY FUNDED BY THE STATE, BEGINNING IN 2004. WE MUST ENSURE THAT THIS CHANGE ENHANCES NOT REGRESSES JUDICIAL SERVICE IN EVERY CIRCUIT IN FLORIDA. AND THIS WILL ONLY HAPPEN, IF WE EXPEND TOTAL ENERGY EVERYDAY, TO ENSURE THIS RESULT. I DO NOT, AND I WILL NOT HESITATE IN MAKING MY CLAIM, MY STEADFAST BELIEF AND NECESSITY OF INDEPENDENCE IN JUDICIAL DECISION-MAKING, BUT I, ALSO, MAKE PLAIN MY RESPECT FOR THE INDEPENDENT ROLES OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. IN RESPECTING THESE INDEPENDENT ROWS, I RECOGNIZE AND AC -- INDEPENDENT ROLES, I RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE AN INTERDEPENDENCE, FOR THE GOAL IS TO OPTIMIZE THAT UNIQUE BRANCH'S SERVICE TO THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAVE GIVEN EACH OF US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE JUDICIARY WILL MAINTAIN ITS INDEPENDENCE, ONLY WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE OTHER TWO BRANCHES, AND SUPPORT OF AN INFORMED PUBLIC, AND I KNOW THAT THAT PUBLIC SUPPORT MUST BE EARNED BY THE JUDICIARY, FUNCTIONING FAIRLY AND EFFICIENTLYNi IN ITS ASSIGNED ROLE. GOVERNOR AND COLUMBA BUSH AND ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH AND PRESIDENT JENNINGS AND SPEAKER AND JEAN THRASHER THAT DO US HONOR BY THEIR PRESENCE HERE, TODAY, AND THEIR COMMENTS, BUT MORE THAN THAT, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT EACH OF THEM HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, IN HELPING ME, AS I HAVE WORKED ON MANY ISSUES AND PREPARATION FOR MOVING INTO THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF. THE GOVERNOR, PRESIDENT, SPEAKER, HAVE MADE THEMSELVES AND THEIR STAFFS AVAILABLE AND OF SERVICE TO ME, EVERY TIME I HAVE CALLED, AND FOR THAT I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL. THEY ARE MY FRIENDS, AND I KNOW OUR FRIENDSHIP WILL GROW, AS WE WORK TOGETHER TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT STATE. SO, AGAIN, I THANK EACH ONE OF YOU, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY TOES, FOR BEING HERE, BEING PART OF LINDA'S AND MY LIFE, AND I HOPE, NOW, THAT YOU WILL JOIN US FOR THE RECEPTION WE HAVE IN THE ROTUNDA, AND LIBRARY, WHERE A LIGHT LUNCH IS SET UP, SO I NOW CALL UPON MY SON, TALLY, TO GIVE US A CLOSING BENEDICTION.

LET'S BOW OUR HEADS. DEAR GOD. AT THIS PASSING OF THE GAVEL, WE GIVE GREAT THANKS. WE GIVE GREAT THANKS FOR JUSTICE MAJOR HARDING, FOR HIS LEADERSHIP, WARMTH, FAITHFULNESS, FOR THE WAYS IN WHICH HE HAS STEERED AND SHAPED THIS GREAT COURT, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND FOR ALL THE LIVES HE HAS TOUCHED DURING HIS TIRELESS TRAVEL AROUND THIS STATE. LORD, FOR ALL OF THIS WE GIVE THANKS, AND, LORD, WE GIVE THANKS AND CELEBRATE MY DAD, FOR ALL THE WAYS YOU HAVE BLESSED HIM, WITH WISDOM, STRENGTH, INTEGRITY, RESPECT FOR ALL WHO HE ENCOUNTERS, AND RESPECT FOR ALL WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THE DECISIONS OF THIS COURT, AND FOR BLESSING HIM WITH A DEEP PASSION FOR JUSTICE, FOR, GOD, WE KNOW, AND DAD KNOWS, THAT HE HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH AN AWESOME TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY, THAT OF DETERMINING JUSTICE. AND WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE DEFINED JUSTICE, THROUGH THE TEACHINGS OF THE HEBREW PROPHETS, AND THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF YOUR SON, A JUSTICE BASED ON LOVE, LOVE OF YOU, GOD, LOVE OF NEIGHBOR, LOVE FOR THOSE IN NEED, LOVE FOR ENEMY. SO, LORD, ON THIS EXCITING DAY, WHEN DAD IS ENTRUSTED WITH AN EVEN GREATER TASK AND AN EVEN GREATER RESPONSIBILITY, THAT OF CHIEF JUSTICE, WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO BLESS HIM WITH WISDOM, STRENGTH, INTEGRITY, RESPECT, AND AN EVEN DEEPER PASSION FOR JUSTICE, FOR, LORD, IT IS IN YOUR NAME THAT WE PRAY. AMEN.

WE WILL STAND ADJOURNED. THE MARSHAL: PLEASE RISE.