Home
News & Events
Supreme Evening 2021

HISTORY, HONOR AND HOPE FILLS “A SUPREME EVENING”

The original broadcast was live on Thursday, January 28, 2021 - 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Thank you to our event Sponsors that made this event possible

A special thank you to these outstanding firms and individuals for their generous contributions that made this special event possible.

Silver Sponsors

Boies Schiller & Flexner
Boyd & Jenerette
Tim Chinaris
Stearns Weaver Miller

The Florida Supreme Court Historical Society held its annual “A Supreme Evening” fund-raising event virtually on January 28, and nearly 1,500 viewers watched the evening’s festivities on Zoom. The event lived up to its well-earned reputation as the “must-attend” event of the new year for Florida's legal community.

After remarks by Society President Jon Claussen and Master of Ceremonies Hank Coxe, the audience enjoyed interviews with the Court’s newest Supreme Court justices, John D. Couriel and Jamie R. Grosshans.

Chief Justice Charles Canady offered his “State of the Court” address, focusing on the pandemic’s effect on the courts and Florida's judiciary, the Courts’ swift pivot to the use of remote technology and the trial courts’ backlog of unresolved cases. He also shared plans for a partnership with the Society to create a Judicial Learning Center inside the Court’s 175-year-old library to offer educational outreach and learning programs that draw on the court’s history. Justice Canady concluded with a reminder about the importance of the role of the courts in our system of constitutional government.

The Historical Society presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Judge Joseph W. Hatchett, who was selected by a unanimous vote of the 75-member board of directors. Following moving video clips from former Gov. Reuben Askew, Chesterfield Smith and former Justice Rosemary Barkett, former Florida Bar Executive Director Jack Harkness—also a Lifetime Achievement Award winner—interviewed Judge Hatchett in his home.

Keynote speaker Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian, shared his views on the United States’ “epistemological crisis” and discussed the reasons why curiosity, candor and empathy are three characteristics that have advanced the country. “In an era where we agree on so little on the basic facts, there is a possibility that the history of the country can offer some common ground,” said Meacham. “Churchill said, ‘The future is unknowable, but the past should give us hope,’ and I believe that as deeply as I believe anything.” Mr. Meacham concluded the evening with a question-and-answer session with audience members.

The Society offers its thanks to everyone who assisted in the development, production and implementation of its first-ever virtual “A Supreme Evening.”

You are invited to view the original broadcast our Supreme Evening 2021 event at no charge and earn a CLE credit in Professionalism or CJE in Ethics. Now or after viewing the presentation - would be an excellent time to show your support for the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society by making a donation or by becoming a member. Your commitment to the Historical Society will allow us to continue our Important Educational & Historical Mission.

Note: The course credit codes are listed below.

Make a Contribution

Become a Member

Warning: browser cookies disabled. Please enable them to use this website.

Select membership level

* Mandatory fields

* Membership level

Contributor Level Member - $500.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year Automatic renewal (recurring payments)

Individual Member - $100.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year Automatic renewal (recurring payments)

Judicial Member - $60.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year Automatic renewal (recurring payments) Active Florida Judge or a Judge that reached mandatory retirement

Sustainer Level Member - $250.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year Automatic renewal (recurring payments)

Young Lawyer Member - $50.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year No automatically recurring payments

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION COURSE INFORMATION

Course number: 2100063N

Title: A Supreme Evening 2021: Jon Meacham on Professionalism

Level: Intermediate

CLE Credit: Professionalism 1.0

Approval Started: January 28, 2021

The downloadable CLE certificate

CONTINUING JUDICIAL EDUCATION COURSE INFORMATION

Course number: 21-22

Title: A Supreme Evening 2021 Event

CJE Credit: Ethics 1.0

Date: January 28, 2021

The downloadable CJE certificate

Learn more about the keynote speaker

Jon Meacham

Presidential Historian and Author

Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jon Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on CNN and other news outlets.

Known as a skilled orator with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, Meacham brings historical context to the issues and events impacting our daily lives.

His #1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. Meacham is a co-author of the recently released book, Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the three impeachments’ complicated motives in U.S. history.

In August 2020, he released His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope - the highly anticipated intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime U.S. congressman John Lewis.

Meacham’s Presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. The Times said, “Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.” Meacham delivered eulogies for both President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush.

Meacham’s #1 New York Times bestseller, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, was hailed as “masterful and intimate” by Fortune magazine. His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston, American Gospel, and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

Two versions of the event are available to now. The full event with includes the 25 minute pre-event show that is both informative and entertaining and the main event that which includes the all the highlights and the keynote presentation.

Sign up for news and updates

Click Here