FlaLaw » 2002 » March » 11

‘Gators’ in Legislature Shaping the Future

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:54:12 +0000

UF College of Law graduates are helping shape the future of the University of Florida, the law school and other state institutions through their service on the Florida Legislature. “These 11 legislators continue the excellent tradition of Gator law grads who have made tremendous contributions through their service in the Florida House and Senate,” said Dean Jon Mills, himself a former state representative and speaker of the house. “They also join the long, impressive line of our law school grads who have held and do hold vital positions in international, national, state and local governments.”

• Rep. Jeffrey D. Kottkamp J.D. ’87 District 74 (parts of Charlotte, Lee and Sarasota counties), Cape Coral. Republican. Agriculture & Consumer Affairs. Select Comm. on Oversight & Accountability for Florida’s Pension Funds. Judicial Oversight, Vice Chair. Claims. House Redistricting.

• Senator Buddy Dyer J.D. ’87 District 14 (parts of Orange and Seminole counties), Orlando. Democrat. Judiciary, Vice Chairman. Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. Ethics and Elections. Subcommittee on Congressional Apportionment and Redistricting. Transportation. Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.

• Rep. Dan Gelber J.D. ’85 District 106 (part of Dade County), Miami Beach. Democratic Whip. Select Comm. on Oversight & Accountability for Florida’s Pension Funds. Council for Healthy Communities. Information Technology. Judicial Oversight. Joint Legislative Committee on Article V. Select Committee on Security, Vice Chair.

• Rep. J. Dudley Goodlette J.D. ’72 District 76 (part of Collier County), Naples. Republican. Council for Ready Infrastructure. Utilities & Telecommunications. Judicial Oversight. Rules, Ethics & Elections, Chair. Select Committee on Florida’s Economic Future. Select Committee on Security, Chair. Procedural & Redistricting Council (Groups A and D).

• Rep. Anna Holliday “Holly” Benson J.D. ’96 District 3 (part of Escambia County), Pensacola. Republican. Council for Competitive Commerce. Health Promotion. Utilities & Telecommunications. Health & Human Services Appropriations. Joint Legislative Committee on Article V.

•Rep. Joe H. Pickens J.D. ’83 District 21 (Putnam, parts of Clay, and Marion counties), Palatka. Republican. Council/Committee Membership. General Education. Transportation. Judicial Oversight. Education Appropriations.

• Rep. Larry Crow J.D. ’82 District 49 (part of Pinellas County), Dunedin. Republican. Select Comm. on Oversight & Accountability for Florida’s Pension Funds. Judicial Oversight, Chair. Council for Smarter Government. Fiscal Responsibility Council. Joint Legislative Committee on Article V. Procedural & Redistricting Council (Groups A and D). House Redistricting, Co-Chair.

• Senator Rod Smith J.D. (Honors) ’74 District 5 (parts of Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee and Union counties) Gainesville. Democrat. Ethics and Elections, Vice Chairman. Criminal Justice, Vice Chairman. Finance and Taxation. Governmental Oversight and Productivity. Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Legislative Apportionment and Redistricting. Select Committee on Public Security and Crisis Management.

• Rep. Timothy M. “Tim” Ryan J.D. ’81 District 99 (part of Broward County), Dania Beach. Democrat. Utilities & Telecommunications. Judicial Oversight. Fiscal Responsibility Council. Fiscal Policy & Resources. Rules, Ethics & Elections. Procedural & Redistricting Council (Groups A and D).

• Senator John F. Laurent J.D. ’72 District 17 (parts of Highlands, Okeechobee and Polk counties), Bartow. Republican. Subcommittee on Legislative Apportionment and Redistricting, Chairman. Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government. Education. Natural Resources. Rules and Calendar. Transportation. Joint Legislative Committee on Article V.

• Senator Walter G. “Skip” Campbell Jr. J.D. ’73 District 33 (part of Broward County), Tamarac. Democrat. Regulated Industries, Chairman. Banking and Insurance. Finance and Taxation. Health, Aging and Long-Term Care. Judiciary. Subcommittee on Congressional Apportionment and Redistricting. Rules and Calendar. Select Committee on Public Security and Crisis Management. Joint Legislative Committee on Article V. Joint Legislative Budget Commission. Zero-Based Budgeting Subcommittee on Public Safety. Commission on Capital Cases.

Professor Emeritus/Judge Robert Mann Dies at 77

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:52:25 +0000

Former judge, state legislator and UF law professor Robert Trask Mann suffered a heart attack and died Feb. 26. He was 77. “All of us are saddened by our colleague Bob Mann’s death,” said Dean Jon Mills, “I clerked for Judge Mann when he was at the 2nd DCA. He was a great mentor and role model. He loved this law school. We will miss him.” All who knew and worked with Mann remarked on his intellectual prowess — he earned degrees from UF, George Washington, Harvard, Yale and Stetson — high ethical standards and quick wit. He was a talented debater, and strong supporter of civil rights and desegregation. Judge Mann began his public career in 1956 when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Hillsborough County. He spent 12 years in the Legislature, where he had tremendous impact on the future of Florida, and was awarded the St. Petersburg Times most valuable legislator award for 1967. From 1968 to 1974, he served on the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland and was chief judge his last two years there. He taught law at UF from 1974 to 1986, during which time he was appointed to the Public Service Commission. Judge Mann retired to his native Tarpon Springs, then lived in recent years in Belleair. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Brown Mann, a former professor of library science; son Robert T. Mann Jr. of Stone Ridge, N.Y.; and daughter Margaret Elizabeth Mann of Brussels, Belgium. The family requests that memorials in Judge Mann’s honor be made to the UF College of Law or Florida Methodist Foundation in Lakeland.

Environmental Moot Team Makes National Semifinals

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:48:58 +0000

UF College of Law Environmental Moot Court Team members Jill Kelso (left), Dawn Rodda and Kristina Rudman recently reached the semifinal round in a competition featuring 60 teams at the Pace University National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition in New York. The team, sent to this premier national environmental moot court competition by the law school’s Environmental and Land Use Law Society, is coached by law student John Kasbar (second from right). UF, along with eight other teams, advanced to the semifinals with three making it to finals. Rodda was selected as best oralist in two of the team’s three preliminary rounds and Rudman was selected as second best oralist in a preliminary round. Competing teams prepared briefs and presented oral arguments on a hypothetical scenario involving a skeet shooting facility and alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and other federal regulations. “This competition gives the students the chance to compete against their peers around the country and to see that they measure up well against the best in the country,” said Professor/Environmental and Land Use Law Program Director Alyson Flournoy. “Students tell me after the competition it’s been a defining experience in building their confidence and skills.” Additional support was provided by faculty members Mark Fenster, Joseph Little, Diane Mazur and William Page; Richard Hamann of the Center for Government Responsibility; Adjunct Professors Mary Jane Angelo and Terry Zinn; and Legal Skills Associate Professor Joseph Jackson. As a result of the team’s success, the college’s Legal Information Center will receive a number of environmental law publications donated by the Environmental Law Institute®. Funds are contributed annually by the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section in support of UF’s moot court team.

Trial Team Continues Record- Breaking Winning Streak

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 11 Mar 2002 18:45:07 +0000

3 UF Squads Going to Nationals

UF’s Trial Team won the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) competition in Jacksonville last week, earning a spot for the law school in the national ATLA competition set for later this month in Chicago. This brings to three the number of UF Trial Team squads eligible for national competitions since two earned the right earlier this term to compete in the American Bar Association nationals in Dallas in April. UF and 15 other schools competed in Jacksonville, and the Gator team went 5-0 – eliminating Georgia State University in the semifinals and Florida State University in the finals. Fermin Lopez (bottom row, far right) and Chris Klemawesch were advocates, and Stacey Gross (fourth from right, top) and Kenneth Grace (third from right) were witnesses at the event. ATLA was the third of three spring regional competitions in which the UF team competed and won. The team won the American Bar Association Regional Competition in January, and Florida Bar Chester Bedell Memorial Competition for the second year in a row in February. “This is an unprecedented winning streak, and a wonderful reflection on the University of Florida,” noted Team President Michael Pike (fifth from left in page one photo). “It also is a great tribute to the memory of UF law Professor Jerry Bennett, who began Trial Team here years ago.” Approximately 40 students participate in Trial Team each year, working together to sharpen their advocacy skills. For each competition, squads of four members each are chosen to participate. “We work and support each other as one big team, and our victories belong to all 40 of us,” Pike said. “We also receive a lot of support from the college’s administration, our Faculty Advisor Carl Schwait, and local attorneys.” Schwait is an attorney with Dell Graham, P.A. in Gainesville. Pike said Gainesville attorneys Denise Ferrero and Brande Smith helped coach the ATLA team. Ferrero (J.D. ’92) is a former prosecutor and now with the Gainesville law firm of Avera & Avera, and Smith (J.D. ’00) is a former Trial Team member who is now a prosecutor for the 8th Judicial Circuit.