Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells speaks to a classroom of law student about professional resposibility.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells used three recent Florida Bar cases to highlight a talk about professional responsibility to a group of law students on Friday.

Wells has served on the Florida Supreme Court since 1994 and served as Chief Justice from 2000-2002. He was brought to campus by the American Constitution Society.

Wells graduated from the UF College of Law in 1964. He has a great feeling of importance toward the law school because of the public service graduates have provided. He also advised students to continue this trend.

“So many of the leaders of Florida have come through and are coming through the College of Law,” Wells said. “It’s enormously important in the day that we live in now that we have people that are dedicated to making our government work… As you move through law school and into the practice of law, I hope that you will build on your enthusiasm for work in the community and work in government because it needs you.”

Wells spoke largely about the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, which includes all professionalism matters with the Florida Bar.

He used three recent cases to highlight three important areas of professional responsibility. In The Florida Bar v. Morgan, the lawyer was rude to the court, which Wells said The Florida Supreme Court has taken a strong stance against. Wells has seen this type of unprofessionalism in person when he was working for the Justice Department in Kansas. He was arguing for the FAA for a summary judgment, which the judge did not grant.

“I had the FAA representative with me, and as we were walking out the back of the courtroom, the FAA representative said very loudly of course, ‘If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s a dumb judge,’ Wells said. “I was very thankful that I got out of there, and I didn’t care much if he got out of there.”

In the second case, The Florida Bar v. Committee, a lawyer got so wrapped up in the case that he used the litigation process to harass the other side. This earned him a 91-day suspension, which actually lasts usually about a year because the lawyer has to prove rehabilitation, Wells said.

Finally, in The Florida Bar v. Martinez-Genova, the lawyer had a substance abuse problem and misappropriated third-party funds, then was disbarred for five years.

“We have now about 80,000 lawyers and there is unfortunately an enormous docket of grievance matters that come through the grievance committees,” Wells said. “If there is a finding of probably cause that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Code of Professional Conduct, that matter is then tried before a referee. The referee is appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. A report is developed by the referee, and then it comes to the court. So the ultimate decision on lawyer discipline is at the Florida Supreme Court.”

Besides Florida Bar cases, the Florida Supreme Court handles capital punishment cases and discrepancies in law between two Florida District Courts of Appeal. Sometimes, the District Courts of Appeal just pass the cases right to the Supreme Court, which is how Bush v. Gore got to the Supreme Court, when Wells was the Chief Justice.

“The district courts, as I often say, they saw how hot that potato was and they gave it the old wave,” Wells said. “They just waved it right on through to us, and we accepted.”

One of the biggest mistakes Wells sees lawyers often make is getting too involved with their cases and overstepping the advocate’s role.

“It’s important to understand that you are there as a lawyer in a representative capacity,” Wells said. “I see too many lawyers that forget that that, and the case becomes about them. They become so wrapped up in the issue, and it’s about them. They’ve forgotten that it’s the client, the party they they’re representing, whose future is on the line.”

Justice Wells

Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells still remembers the words of the commencement speaker when he graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 1964. The speaker was Chesterfield Smith, a prominent UF Law alumnus who was then president of The Florida Bar.

“I remember that his theme was ‘I love being a lawyer,’” he said. “And he described the ingredients of someone growing to love being a lawyer, that it’s not something that comes naturally.”

Justice Wells, who will address Fall 2006 graduates at the Levin College of Law’s commencement Dec. 22, said that even 42 years after he graduated from law school, the thing that he has come to recognize with each passing year “is just how much there is to continue to learn about the law and the practice of law.” Justice Wells had practiced law for 30 years when he assumed his duties as Justice of the Florida Supreme Court on June 16, 1994, after being appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles. He served the Court as Chief Justice from June 2000 through June 2002.

A proud “Double-Gator,” Justice Wells received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in 1961 and his juris doctor degree from UF Law in 1964. He is a veteran, having served in the United States Army. He was honored by being awarded recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus of UF in 2001.

Justice Wells is perhaps most noted for presiding over election cases brought to the Court as part of the dispute over Florida’s electoral votes in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, which were broadcast live to a world-wide audience.

“The election process doesn’t work very well when the election’s a tie,” Wells said with a laugh. Justice Wells, who has lectured throughout the United States on the Florida Court’s processing and administration of the election cases, wrote a dissent on the court’s second case in the 2000 election, a position which was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court as to the limitations of the role of courts in election controversies. History tells us, he said, that virtual ties in elections and the controversies that follow are inevitable.

“There have been reforms that have been made and changes of machines and still there are controversies and still courts are thrust into a position of making election decisions,” he said. “But I think that the courts have to again recognize the limitations on the role that they can play in deciding who are going to be the political leaders. Because ultimately that has to be a decision by the people in the community and not by the judges in the community.”

Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells, pictured above, will address the Fall 2006 graduates at the Levin College of Law’s commencement Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Florida campus.

Justice Wells assumed his duties as Justice of the Supreme Court on June 16, 1994, after being appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles. He served the court as chief justice from June 2000 through June 2002. A native Floridian, he received his bachelor’s degree from UF in 1961 and his juris doctor degree from UF Law in 1964. He was awarded recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus of UF in 2001.

Graduating students should report with their regalia to the Phillips Center Black Box no later than 1:15 p.m. More information, including directions, can be found on their website http://www.performingarts.ufl.edu/. The parking garage adjacent to the center has been reserved, and guests are encouraged to park there. A reception will immediately follow the program in the law school’s Schott Courtyard.