THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
WE MOURN THE PASSING OF JUDGE A. LEO ADDERLY .....
There was a time not too long ago when you could count on one hand the number of judges in Miami-Dade County that were African American. The "first" to hold that honor was Judge Lawson Thomas, appointed to the City of Miami Black Municipal Court in 1950. Judge Wilkie Ferguson was our "first" African American judge on the Circuit Court in 1977. Judge Ferguson also became the "first" on the 3rd DCA in 1980. Judge Calvin Mapp was "first" on the County Court bench in 1973.
I remember well Judge Leo Adderly. He was sitting on the County Court bench when I first began practicing law in the 1980s. I cannot ever recall Judge Adderly raising his voice. He always had a calm demeanor, he was in fact soft-spoken and he treated everyone that appeared before him with respect.
Our Justice Building Blog family joins family members and friends in mourning the passing of Retired Judge Alfonso Leo Adderly on July 3, 2023.
Judge Adderly, a recipient of the Miami Herald Silver Knight Award, obtained his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, and his law degree from Indiana University, Howard University School of Law. He served as a Miami-Dade County Judge from September 1981 to August 31, 2003.
Prior to his appointment to the County Court Bench, he was in private general practice and also served as a Miami-Dade Assistant Public Defender from 1969 to 1972.
Beyond his service on the Bench, Judge Adderly made significant contributions to his community. He was among the first group of nine attorneys to serve as Legal Services of Greater Miami staff attorneys in 1966 and later served as Board President. Together with Dorothy Ellen Jenkins Fields, he founded the Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida.
Services
A viewing will be held from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, July 14, 2023, at Range Funeral Home, 5727 NW 17th Ave, Miami, FL 33142.
The funeral service for Judge Adderly will take place at 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at Church of the Incarnation, 1835 NW 54th St. Miami, FL 33142.
I hope that some of our older attorneys that read the Blog will share their good memories of Judge Adderly.
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
11 comments:
Is Judge Calvin Mapp still alive. He was a former motorcycle police officer and a tremendous Judge.
Judge Calvin Mapp was my friend who I met when I was a young ASA in 1983. He told me how he started as a negro police officer who could only arrest negros. (Yes, that is the way they talked back then). He then became a lawyer, ASA and later a county judge. He had a good heart and was a decent caring man.
Do not usually appear in Kounty Kourt, except when celebrities are arrested. So, never had much, if anything with Adderly. I would note that he was one of the part-time assistant public defenders who never asked for a jury trial and plead most everyone out. When Phil took over he cleaned ship and brought in the "young turks". The rest is history.
to 2:36 am:
THE CAPTAIN RESPONDS:
Judge Calvin Mapp passed away on November 27, 2012. He spent 21 years on the bench from 1973-1994.
Cap Out .......
Wow. A time when legal services lawyers and PDs were appointed to the bench without licking the shoes of the federalist society. Imagine that.
I remember judge adderley when I first started as a certified legal intern in 1985 for the public defenders office and then a new attorney in 1987 he was always soft spoken and fair to all in his courtroom he will be missed
In the case of indigent defendants who could not afford to pay a fine, Judge Mapp would tell them to go to the Red Cross and donate a pint of blood.
I worked with Judge Adderly in private practice before he went on the bench. He was a very
humble, nice man.
I really enjoyed being in front of Mapp. He loved educating young ASAs and PDs. Quote from his book and you’d win every time. They broke the mold with him. He’s a lot better then the spineless clowns occupying so many seats today
Judge Leo Adderly was one of the last of a generation of gentle judges: he Always greeted all colleagues as: Judge. He loved his work almost as much as his beautiful family. I worked with him as a County Judge, always on time, always professional. May he rest in peace; may his memory be a blessing to all who knew him
Calvin Mapp was a real man. He was a great judge. Innate sense of fairness and a genuine desire to improve lives. Although he was big and intimidating he would routinely sentence folks to clean parks early on Saturday mornings and then show up and help them do it.
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