Senate Bill 2746

    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)  (Corrected Copy)    SR 2746

    By Senator Jones





    40-2220C-99

  1                    Senate Resolution No.     

  2         A resolution commending Chief Judge Joseph W.

  3         Hatchett for his outstanding accomplishments as

  4         a jurist, public servant, and distinguished

  5         American.

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  7         WHEREAS, The Honorable Joseph W. Hatchett has announced

  8  his intention to retire from the federal judiciary, effective

  9  May 14, 1999, and

10         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett's retirement will mark his

11  completion of more than 30 years of distinguished public

12  service to the State of Florida and the United States of

13  America as a jurist and lawyer, and

14         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett is a native of Clearwater,

15  Florida, and attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical

16  University (A.B. Degree, 1954 in Political Science); Howard

17  University School of Law (J.D. Degree, 1959), and

18         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett served with great skill and

19  dedication in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, Military

20  Judge (Lieutenant Colonel), Retired, 1988; and the United

21  States Army, 1954-1956, and

22         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett served as a United States

23  Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh

24  Circuit (October 1, 1981 to September 30, 1996); United States

25  Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth

26  Circuit (July 1979 to October 1, 1981); Justice, Supreme Court

27  of Florida (1975-1979); United States Magistrate for the

28  Middle District of Florida (1971-1975); Special Hearing

29  Officer for Conscientious Objectors, Department of Justice

30  (1967-1968); First Assistant United States Attorney for the

31  Middle District of Florida (1967-1971); Assistant United

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)  (Corrected Copy)    SR 2746
    40-2220C-99




  1  States Attorney, Jacksonville (1966); Contract Consultant to

  2  the City of Daytona Beach (1963-1966); and maintained a

  3  private law practice in Daytona Beach from 1959-1966 before

  4  assuming his current position as Chief Judge of the United

  5  States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on October 1,

  6  1996, and

  7         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett was the first

  8  African-American to be appointed to a state's highest court

  9  since Reconstruction, and

10         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett was the first

11  African-American to be elected to a statewide post in the

12  Southern United States, and

13         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett was also the first

14  African-American to serve on a federal appellate court in the

15  Southern United States, and

16         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett has served in numerous

17  elected and appointed positions achieving prominence

18  throughout the legal community, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity,

19  and

20         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett has distinguished himself

21  by publishing numerous articles and publications on the

22  subjects of constitutional law, the judicial system, and

23  criminal law in legal journals such as the George Mason

24  University Civil Rights Law Journal, The Florida Bar Journal,

25  the Florida Endowment for the Humanities Florida Forum, the

26  University of Miami Law Review, and Case & Comment, and

27         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett has distinguished himself

28  in the civil rights arena when such activism was unpopular and

29  often life-threatening, and

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    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)  (Corrected Copy)    SR 2746
    40-2220C-99




  1         WHEREAS, Joseph W. Hatchett has been a leader in the

  2  judiciary and legal profession, and an inspiration, mentor,

  3  and role model for countless Floridians, NOW, THEREFORE,

  4

  5  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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  7         That the Florida Senate commends Joseph W. Hatchett for

  8  his outstanding accomplishments as a jurist, public servant,

  9  and distinguished American and encourages all Floridians to

10  pay tribute to his years of service to the State of Florida

11  and the United States of America, and

12         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution,

13  with the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Joseph W.

14  Hatchett at his retirement commemoration on May 21, 1999, as a

15  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.

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