Sad news: the death of a kind and compassionate fellow defense attorney and judge, D. Bruce Levy. Bruce was a former Assistant Public Defender and a circuit court judge. He was a true gentleman, and the kind of judge we all want to appear before. (Unlike too many judges), Bruce honored our Bill of Rights and was fair, smart and courteous to all. He was respected by everyone. To sum it up, Bruce was a great guy!
He will be missed.
Well said Mr. Weiner.
Judge Levy was all of those things and more. In these troubled times, when many Judges, lawyers, and everyone else sometimes lack the courage to speak up, Bruce Levy was one of those people. He spent his professional life righting wrongs. What better way to live? He has been missed and he will continue to be missed and remembered.
Rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteA gentleman, and a good trial lawyer as a PD. Unfortunately, he got stuck in Probate division and was not well known to lawyers, had difficulty raising money and lost to a hispanic female who sold amway products out of her husbands law office and never practiced law. He returned to the PD and never complained. Sad to hear of his pasing, I knew him from UF and the Delta Phi E sorority house where he dated his first wife.
ReplyDeleteWe spend the best 30-40 years of our lives toiling away in REG, case after case, judge after judge, to only be reduced to a post on a blog viewed by no more than 100-200 people in a closely knit community?
ReplyDeleteThere's got to be more to life than this.
So sorry to hear of his passing. Lovely man. God bless his soul and his memory.
ReplyDeleteHe was a real Mensch on the Bench.
ReplyDeleteHe will be missed.
In 1985 I was a young PD who knew very little about how to be a good lawyer and D. Bruce Levy was the first felony judge I was assigned to at REG. Bruce, as he was known, cared deeply for people whether they were defendants or victims, policemen or civilians. He could be caustic at times when other people didn't treat people that way and I saw him more than once chastise a lawyer for just that. I was switched out after a few years and I next met him when I was assigned as a Senior Lawyer to the Juvenile Division about 10 years later. By then I knew a thing or to about being a lawyer and our relationship became more equal because of that experience. He had also married Meryl Gold (whom I went to law school with) by then and they had a child together. We had a lot more in common since I had young children of my own and we often spoke about families and responsibilities as much as the cases we shared in Court. He was measured and very concerned about how he did what he did. He didn't hurry up just to appease people and I appreciated that immensely. He was the first person who ever suggested that I should become a judge and it was from that conversation my personal journey to the judiciary began. Each day on the bench I have to concern myself with how I do what I do and each time I try to be just as judicious and serious about it as Bruce always was. I heard about his death last week and it flooded my brain with a lot of fond memories about him. I will mourn his passing for a long time.
ReplyDeleteRobin Faber
Associate Administrative Judge
Criminal Division, County Court
Well said Robin.
ReplyDelete