Senate Bill sb3178

    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SR 3178

    By Senator Smith





    14-2618-04                                         See HR 9117

  1                    Senate Resolution No. ____

  2         A resolution honoring Chesterfield Smith.

  3  

  4         WHEREAS, rising from humble beginnings, Chesterfield

  5  Smith, whether serving his country during World War II,

  6  pursuing a public cause, or raising the standards of the legal

  7  profession, left a moral footprint that gained him the highest

  8  regard of his fellow citizens and blazed a trail for many to

  9  follow, and

10         WHEREAS, past president of both the American Bar

11  Association and The Florida Bar, and a founder of one of the

12  state's largest law firms, few have done more to enhance the

13  legal profession than has Chesterfield Smith, whose dedication

14  to improving the organized bar earned him the title "America's

15  Lawyer," and

16         WHEREAS, Chesterfield Smith was a resolute,

17  tough-minded individual who, never backing down from conflict,

18  took on the highest when as president of the American Bar

19  Association he denounced President Nixon for firing special

20  prosecutor Archibald Cox, his simple, direct "No man is above

21  the law" becoming a defining moment in the American legal

22  system, and

23         WHEREAS, Chesterfield Smith was one of the first to

24  actively recruit minorities to his firm, which under his

25  leadership became a model of diversity, focusing on opening a

26  door that had been historically closed to minorities and

27  women; and he never lost interest in guiding young lawyers,

28  constantly prodding and encouraging them to "be somebody," a

29  legacy reflected in the lives of thousands who follow his

30  simple mantra to "do good," and

31  

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






    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SR 3178
    14-2618-04                                         See HR 9117




 1         WHEREAS, Chesterfield Smith's voice was that of the

 2  legally disenfranchised and, constantly reminding lawyers that

 3  the privilege to practice law carries with it the

 4  responsibility to represent the powerless, the poor, the

 5  underrepresented, and the victims of discrimination, he was

 6  instrumental in creating the national Legal Services

 7  Corporation, whose building in Miami bears his name, and

 8         WHEREAS, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader

 9  Ginsburg once described this extraordinary man as being "among

10  the brightest, boldest, bravest, all-around most effective

11  lawyers ever bred in Florida and the U.S.A.," and, although

12  the state and nation deeply mourned his death, his legacy is

13  that not of loss, but of one whose deeds place him in a

14  pantheon of greatness and are those to which all may aspire,

15  NOW, THEREFORE,

16  

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

18  

19         That the Senate takes great pride in recognizing the

20  outstanding contributions made by Chesterfield Smith to this

21  chamber, this state, and this nation.

22         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution

23  be presented to Jacqueline Allee Smith, Chesterfield Smith,

24  Jr., and Rhoda Smith Kibler, wife, son, and daughter of

25  "America's Lawyer," as a tangible token of the sentiments of

26  the Florida Senate.

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30  

31  

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