Fred Lewis
R. Fred Lewis was an associate justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Gov. Lawton Chiles (D) appointed Lewis to the court in 1998. Lewis was retained in 2006 and 2012. Lewis retired January 7, 2019. Click here for more information about his supreme court justice vacancy.
Lewis served as chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 2006 until 2008.[1]
Education
Lewis earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Florida Southern College in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1972.[1]
Military service
Lewis served in the U.S. Army. He was in the ROTC program at the University of Miami, and attended the U.S. Army A.G. School.[1]
Career
Lewis entered the private practice of law following his discharge from the army. He began his judicial career January 1, 1999, when he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court.[1]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Pete George Memorial Award
- Besser Lindsey Award, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Order of World Wars Superior Achievement Honor
- Friends of Justice Award, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Public Trust and Confidence Award, Florida Law Related Education Association
- Justice R. Fred Lewis Award, University of Central Florida
- Florida Jurist of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates, Florida Chapter
- Judge Mario Goderich Award, Cuban American Bar Association
- Guardian of the Constitution Citizenship Award
- 2001: Citizen of the Year, Florida Council
- 2005-2006: Judge Wilke Ferguson Award, Easter Seals
- 2005: Law in Education Award
- 2006: Guardian of The Constitution Award
- 2006: Education for Democracy Award
- 2007: Equal Opportunities in the Judiciary Award
- 2007: Constitutional Education Award
- 2007: Education for Justice Award
- 2007: Pursuit of Justice Award, American Bar Association
- 2007: Outstanding Citizen Award, Florida Council for Social Studies
- 2007-2008: Joe Oldmixon Service Award, Center for Independent Living Disability Resource Center
- 2007: Justice Thurgood Marshall Award
- 2008: William M. Hoeveler Judicial Award
- 2008: Gracias Award, Broward County Hispanic Bar
- 2009: We the People Constitution Education Award, Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.[1]
Associations
- 2000: Honorary Doctor of Public Service, Florida Southern College
- 2002: Honorary Doctor of Law, St. Thomas University
- Former member, University of Miami School of Law, Law Review
- Former member, University of Miami School of Law, Student Bar Association
- Former member, University of Miami School of Law, Law School Honor Council
- Former member, University of Miami School of Law, Appellate Moot Court Teams
- Former member, Florida’s Commission on the Legal Needs of Children
- Emeritus member, Tallahassee American Inn of Court
- Liaison, Florida Board of Bar Examiners
- Liaison, Judicial Management Council
- Member, Justice Teaching Institute
- Member, Florida Supreme Court, Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure
- Member, Florida Supreme Court, Committee on Standard Civil Jury Instructions
- Member, Florida Supreme Court, Code and Rules of Evidence Committee
- Volunteer, Florida Law Related Education
- Board of directors, Miami Children's Hospital[1]
Elections
2018
- See also: Florida Supreme Court elections, 2018
Fred Lewis was not able to file for re-election due to the office's mandatory retirement age.
2012
- See also: Florida judicial elections, 2012
Lewis was retained on Nov. 6, 2012 with 67.5 percent of the vote.[2]
Bar poll results
Ninety-two percent of Florida lawyers polled by the state Bar were in favor of Lewis' retention.[3]
2006
| Florida Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2006 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Fred Lewis 
|
2,759,763 | 67.1% | ||
| Against retention | 1,351,264 | 32.9% | ||
- Click here for 2006 General Election Results from the Florida Secretary of State.
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Lewis received a campaign finance score of 0.72, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.51 that justices received in Florida.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[4]
See also
External links
- Florida Supreme Court
- The Florida Legal Blog, "Petition Filed in Florida Supreme Court to Limit Juror Use of Social Media," January 15, 2010
- The Free Library, "Lewis: the time is now to make access a priority," 2006
- The Florida Bar News, "Meet the Court: Justice Fred Lewis," May 15, 2002
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Florida Supreme Court, "Justice R. Fred Lewis," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Official November 6, 2012 General Election Results," accessed October 2, 2018
- ↑ The Florida Bar, "Florida Bar Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Supreme Court Justices, Appellate Judges in Merit Retention Elections," September 7, 2012
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida
