Constitutional Freedoms and Lawyers

Constitutional Freedoms and Lawyers

Nearly 600 judges, lawyers and guests heard Harvard Law Professor Arthur Miller speak on May 10 about constitutional freedoms during the Hillsborough County Bar Association's annual Law Day luncheon at the Tampa Hyatt Hotel. It was one of the association's largest gatherings.

Miller explained to the audience he has ties to the Tampa Bay area. In the 1950s, he attended Harvard Law School with Marvin Barkin, a shareholder at Tampa's Trenam Kemker Scharf Barkin Frye O'Neill & Mullis PA.

Miller talked about the role of jurors in the U.S. legal system. "Some say that jurors are dumb, they forget they are us," he said.

He contends the media has too much influence on juries. "Jurors are media fodder," he said.

During the luncheon, the association honored Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer with the Exemplary Demonstration of Judicial Independence Award.

The group honored civil rights activist Helen Gordon Davis with the annual Liberty Bell Award, the highest honor the group awards to a nonlawyer. It also awarded the Robert Patton Outstanding Jurist Award to Hillsborough Circuit Judge E. Lamar Battles.

- David R. Corder