We received this email:
Rumpole, you missed the fact that Judge Phil Knight passed away in May 2011. Could you please post something?
The reader is correct. We did miss the fact that Judge Knight passed away. The title of the post links to his obit.
Judge Knight was a brilliant man. An accomplished attorney and a great and well respected trial Judge, Judge Knight set the standard for running an efficient courtroom. Judge Knight often was in his chambers by 7:00 AM, reviewing files, reading motions and generally preparing for the days cases. It was not unusual for Judge Knight to have his calendar concluded by 9:30 and a trial started by 10:00 AM. Judge Knight was so efficient, and his court audit was so low, that we often heard from other disgruntled colleagues that Judge Knight must have had some agreement with the clerk's office to assign less cases to his division. Of course nothing could have been further from the truth. Judge Knight's audit was low because he was a hard working judge.
Judge Knight was human and like all of us he battled his demons. But Judge Knight was a great Judge and a valuable addition to the REGJB for the time he served as a circuit judge. It was gratifying to read that upon his retirement he lived a full and happy life in Sun City, Tampa,. Judge Knight was a true Miami original and we will not see his like in these parts again.