Diminutive only in stature, Judge Schwartz had a brilliant legal mind, and as legions of lawyers learned, he did not suffer fools gladly. Arguing your first case before Judge Schwartz at the 3rd DCA was a rite of passage for generations of appellate lawyers. And while Judge Schwartz may have been intimidating, his bark was worse than his bite and his opinions were soundly crafted and superbly reasoned. Behind the scenes he mentored young lawyers and judges alike.
Judge Schwartz was the only appellate judge of the 3rd DCA who in our experience returned to the Justice Building to try cases. We appreciated his effort and continued interest in criminal law.
When you appeared before Judge Schwartz you had to be ready for any sort of legal question. He could challenge you on the facts in the record, or the application of precedent, or both, or neither. You never knew how he was going to approach your case.
Judge Schwartz will be justly remembered as a giant among Florida State Appellate Judges. In a fitting tribute, the new Atrium at the 3rd DCA will be renamed in his honor. No other memorial services are planned at this time.
19 comments:
My heart hurts. Truly brilliant. A kind mentor. Taught so many to be prepared. Off the bench, a truly humble, kind and charitable man. He loved the opera and the arts. He was one heck of a hard worker.
After his first question, you knew where you stood with Chief Judge Schwartz.
I was assigned to Judge Schwartz's courtroom as a assistant public defender. My partners were Bruce Alter and Jeff Ward, and our ASA opponents were Richard Sharpstein and Robert Hertzberg. The Judge would take the bench at 8:55 just to see who came in late. He made us all better lawyers. And when he was on your panel at the Third, you had better know your shit. If he didnt ask you any questions as the appellant, you knew the assistant attorney general was not going to leave the podium unharmed.
There are a few of you who want me to go some place I will not go. Save it for your blog.
Peter what stories you may have. You against Sharpie- Schwartz as the judge. Amazing.
Judge Schwartz worked his tail off as an appellate judge and as the chief. There was nothing ever filed as an emergency that was not initially dealt with within two hours or less. He was honest, brilliant, hard-working and demanding. He will be sorely missed. One f my favorite quotes attributed to him was "If you work at the REGB, you learn very quickly that all cops lie." It is a shame that we no longer have him around to catch them and that so many judges are afraid of them,
Him and Judge Pearson will go down as 2 of the best ever to grace the Third DCA. (Honorable mention: Judge Cope). What makes an appellate judge great in my opinion is his or her ability to DRILL DOWN to the very foundation of legal doctrine and apply the law to the facts after doing so--both of them had the intellectual horsepower to do that. That's not an easy task. These days too many of the opinions coming out of the Third DCA smack of laziness, with little rigor and even less conscientious writing.
Chief Judge Schwartz wanted appellate lawyers to live up to the aspirations of the profession: preparation to knowing every detail of the record cold, perceptive analysis in choosing our argument, mastery of every pertinent statute and case. To me, he was disappointed when a lawyer in the system failed to meet this standard, and did not hide his disappointment. Because he as judge met it on every case I ever saw him involved in. He made us better knowing there would not be an uninformed judge to put up with a poor argument. As a young lawyer, I appreciated being held to a high standard. Also I was shocked one day when trying a civil case and he as sitting Chief Judge of the Third DCA came in as backup judge to preside. It was a case full of evidentiary wrinkles and motions in limine and he nailed every one of the issues. I will miss him setting the standard in so many ways.
So it will be next week that we will learn that Trump colluded with the Russians to "hack" and steal the election? For over two years now Ive been assured the President is a "traitor" and illegitimate, and so I patiently await the confirmation of these accusations.
In their absence of course, I would expect anyone who promulgated the accusations to admit they participated in a complete fraud, to apologize, and to refrain from talking about politics - which are obviously above their IQ-level - for the remainder of their adult lives.
Anyway, I'll just be patient over here for your boy Mueller to file his well-substantiated report of Trump's treason.
That there are so few comments about his passing speaks volumes about the age and/or historical amnesia of your audience.
That’s it?
6 mediocre comments about the life of one of the most dedicated jurists to serve our community ever?
Any judge presently serving in our courts - who thinks he or she is an academic, who writes brilliant orders and knows the law better than any attorney appearing before them - better realize that NO ONE REALLY CARES ABOUT THEM. It’s a delusion if you tell yourself that you are sacrificing financially and otherwise AND that YOU will be remembered as one of the greats.
No way. The system will remember the funny Judges, the friendly yenta Judges and the Judges who never make a ruling and thus never rule against someone.
What a colossal waste of time to serve as a judge. Be a lawyer. Make money. Save it. Get out and enjoy your life. Spending your most important years being in a disgusting mold filled building - surrounding yourself by a bunch of “lawyers” - just looking to fight because that is the source of their earnings - is NOT a way that one becomes proud of the virtue of their profession.
Since I do not do appeals, I didn't have much of a familiarity with Alan Schwartz.
My first interaction with the Judge was not good. When he would [quite admirably] act as sitting Circuit court judge, I waltzed into his court, acting arrogant and cocky, and boy did he let me have it! I foolishly thought, who does this little man think he is? I thought he was a bourgeois appellate judge that had nothing in common with the courthouse in which he was hanging out. Boy was I wrong!
Once I was able to get to know Judge Schwartz off the bench, I saw a brilliant as well as very approachable and hip man. I came to appreciate how this was not a normal tribunal sitting on the bench but, rather, a brilliant and accomplished jurist that deserved absolute respect and admiration. He had a great career, I so much respected how he would do some tours of duty at the Circuit level and his mark on the South Florida landscape couldn't be stronger.
RIP my good man.
No Sir Mr. 12:07, Rumpole has chosen not to publish the negative comments out of respect for the dead.
My experiences with Judge Schwartz are book-ended with an initial very difficult experience and concluding with the most satisfying appellate win of my career.
In my first case as I stood up and approached the podium Schwartz glared at me and asked if I was the person who wrote the brief and was responsible for it's contents? I said yes. He said "sit down. You lost." And indeed I had.
Twenty years and many oral arguments later, I stood on behalf of a 26 year old client with one juvenile prior who turned down an offer of a 7 year min man and was convinced by very bad lawyering to plead open to then Judge Peter Adrien. Adrien sentenced the young man to 30 years in prison and when I was hired and moved to withdraw the plea Adrien asked me why a defendant would ever put his hands in the life of trial judge- a comment which remains one of the most troubling and ignorant comments I have heard any judge make.
On that last appearance before Judge Schwartz as I approached the podium and opened with the Judge's comment and asked if a defendant could not trust a trial judge for fairness then who could he seek fairness from? Schwartz nodded and politely told me to sit down and not blow it. He had read the brief and the record. He knew precisely what had occurred and how unfair it was and the AG was not out of his seat before he and his colleagues upbraided him for even defending against my brief. The 30 year sentence was overturned and I have often reflected that I would gladly accept my first loss for my last win.
Judge Schwartz was as we all acknowledge brilliant. But more than that, he had an innate sense of justice and fairness and I will take that in a Judge any day even if at times they can be brusque.
He served this community with fairness and dedication and I will miss him as I have these past years when he stopped sitting as a retired Judge.
Great story about a unique man, Phil. Most times, you never realize what you have until it's gone!
The tale described by Mr. Reizenstein, Esq., can be found at 988 So.2d 130.
Once Schwartz left the bench, vindictive sentencing essentially died as an issue at the Third. He was not a perfect judge but he was far better than most.
3:22..............I always find comments like yours interesting.
I've never been a judge, but was a Miami-Dade prosecutor. I felt underappreciated, but it didn't sap my motivation. Like many others, I worked extremely hard because I loved serving the community and was proud of the difference I made. I didn't need anyone else to validate my contributions by giving me praise or awards or remembering me when I left (though I, like any normal human being, always appreciated such things). I relished the time I spent at the SAO and would love to return.
I, of course, was/am not alone. Instead of criticizing those who serve you for doing thankless jobs, why don't you thank them?
BTDT
During an oral argument I had against DCF on a termination of parental rights, Schwartz told the DCF attorney “Frankly, I don’t trust a thing that comes out of your mouth or from your department.” Just withering.
I Remember Schwartz sitting in for Paul Sielgel at RGB one day after a holiday weekend with a large calendar. As he ran through the A/C calendar he dismissed several old cases and the gasps were loud. He didn't respond and kept going.
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