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ACLU Honors Kogan With Poynter Award
The American Civil Liberties
Union of Florida has presented its highest award, the Nelson Poynter Award, to
Gerald Kogan, former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court and a member of
UM Law's Class of 1955.
Named for the former crusading editor and publisher of
the St. Petersburg Times, the Nelson Poynter Award is given annually to people
who show commitment to the cause of civil liberties in Florida.
Kogan, who retired from the Supreme Court in December
1998, heads the new Alliance for Ethical Government, headquartered at UM Law,
which promotes integrity in local government.
The ACLU chose him for the award because he has been
"courageous in defending a wide range of individual rights."
"Always the courageous judge, Justice Kogan used
his years on the bench to defend a wide range of individual rights," the
ACLU of Florida proclaimed. As examples, the organization cited his dissent from
the majority decision in Kirscher v. McIver, which held that a terminally ill
patient had no right to self-determination in the manner of his own death, and a
series of articles authored by Kogan calling for the state to re-examine use of
the death penalty.
Throughout his career-which has included service as a
circuit judge in Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit and as administrative judge
of the Criminal Division-he has served as an adjunct faculty member of various
law schools, including UM Law, teaching criminal evidence, trial advocacy, and
professional responsibility.
Kogan also has served as chair of the Florida Supreme
Court's Gender Bias Study Commission and the Judicial Council and as vice chair
of the Bench/Bar Commission and chair of that body's Implementation Commission.
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