A Journey to Justice with Neil Skene

Neil Skene, well known in Tallahassee as the St. Petersburg Times capital bureau chief in the 1980s and as a Florida Trend columnist in the mid-2000s, has written a colorful, entertaining, thoroughly researched account of the Florida Supreme Court in its most tumultuous period, 1972-1987. He tells engaging stories behind what he calls “the reformation” of Florida’s court system and judicial selection in the 1970s, including the appointment of the first black justice, Joseph Hatchett, and the first female justice, Rosemary Barkett.. Neil goes on to describe landmark court decisions that changed media law, personal injury law, and family and divorce law; privacy rights; gay rights; growth management, and death penalty cases;

Shining a light on the often invisible work that informs the law, Neil includes the lawyers and lower-court judges whose arguments and opinions shaped the court’s rulings. He integrates firsthand stories from justices with documents, articles, and cases. He even reveals material from confidential vote sheets and draft opinions to give new perspective to important cases. The result is an absorbing portrayal of the court and  its “Journey Toward Justice. “

Jon Mills, the former House speaker and law school dean, says the book “makes historical figures come alive” and is “necessary reading for anyone interested in law and politics in Florida.”