FORMER FLORIDA CHIEF JUSTICE R. FRED LEWIS REMEMBERED FOR COMMITMENT TO CIVIC EDUCATION

'My lessons of life came from being born into generations of coal miners in the mountains of West Virginia and the sense of community and human interaction necessary for survival at that time'

Former Florida Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis died Tuesday, May 26, in Tallahassee, at age 78.

Lewis will lie in state in the Florida Supreme Court rotunda from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 11. Members of the Supreme Court will ceremonially receive the body and Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz will make brief remarks. A memorial service will be held in the courtroom of the Florida Supreme Court at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 12.

Lewis was appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1998 as the 78th justice of the Florida Supreme Court and served on the state’s highest court until his retirement in 2019. He was chief justice from 2006 to 2008.

The West Virginia native grew up an accomplished athlete at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, West Virginia. He was recruited to play basketball at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. There he excelled in the classroom and athletics and also met his wife, Judy. They wed in 1969.

Lewis moved to Miami to attend the University of Miami School of Law, where he graduated third in his 1972 class. After military service, Lewis began work in private practice in Miami.

On the Supreme Court, Lewis considered his signal accomplishment creation of the Justice Teaching initiative. Through the program, thousands of volunteer judges and lawyers went to Florida middle and high schools to bolster civic and law-related education.

“I started going out on my own to the schools to teach the kids,” Lewis said, describing how it revealed a gap “that needed to be addressed because of the woeful status of civic education for our kids. Providing them with good, correct information to me was of critical value.”

His work on the program led to being awarded the prestigious Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education, presented by the National Center for State Courts.

As chief justice, Lewis directed an audit of all courts in the state to identify and remove barriers to justice for people with disabilities.

“I firmly believe that the denial of access to a disabled individual is as heinous and illegitimate as racial or ethnic bias or any other barrier to getting into the courthouse,” Lewis said.

Miami trial attorney Ira Leesfield shared a 50-year friendship and professional relationship with Justice Lewis.

“Fred and I started practicing law together at the same time, and he distinguished himself as a lawyer, community member, and judge," Leesfield said. "He ultimately became chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court in a distinguished and noteworthy way. He was a leader in the legal community and certainly a giant in our profession. His compassion for people, for all Floridians, and for litigants in the court system reflected his huge heart, empathy, and understanding. He also possessed one of the keenest analytical legal minds imaginable."

When Lewis applied to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1998, he described why he wanted to serve on the court and reflected how his experience would shape his approach.

“I offer eyes and ears that can not only see and listen, but also understand and hear human difficulties,” Lewis wrote. “My lessons of life came from being born into generations of coal miners in the mountains of West Virginia and the sense of community and human interaction necessary for survival at that time.”