Lawson officially joins the Supreme Court: 'if we're going to enjoy the freedoms we have, our judges have to be independent'.

Fifth District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Jay P. Cohen turned to the justices on the Supreme Court and assured them they will quickly respect their newest colleague on the bench, if they don't already.

"He's adept at disagreeing without being disagreeable. He will listen to opposing viewpoints with an open mind, without an agenda. And if you are able to convince him of your position, he's willing to change. If you were to list the qualities we want in a judge, Justice Alan Lawson fits that bill: He's humble, always calm, always collected. He's a good listener, exceptionally smart, an excellent writer. He's a man of the utmost integrity.

He's a judge's judge. And for those reasons, on behalf of the judges of the Fifth DCA, we are formally requesting that Gov. Scott return him immediately to our court."

Amidst the laughter at the packed Florida Supreme Court on April 5 for the investiture ceremony of the 86th justice, Cohen shrugged and said: "No? I told the other judges that would never work.... Our loss as a court is a gain for the citizens of the entire state."' Fifty-five-year-old Lawson, most recently the chief judge of the Fifth DCA in Daytona Beach and a trial judge in the Ninth Circuit, is a native of Lakeland who grew up in Tallahassee and went to the Florida State University College of Law with Justice Ricky Polston.

Replacing the seat vacated when Justice James E.C. Perry retired because he reached the constitutionally mandated retirement age, Lawson is the first appointment to the high court by Gov. Rick Scott.

"Throughout his career, Justice Lawson has focused on defending the Constitution and strictly adhering to the rule of law," Scott said. "His breadth of experience and knowledge of our state judicial system is an asset and will undoubtedly benefit Florida's highest court."

Giving a shining example of Lawson's goodness, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga told how Alan and his wife, Julie, volunteered when they learned of a group doing health-related work in Central America called SMART--Surgical & Medical Assistance Relief Teams.

In the slums of Honduras in 1999, the Lawsons met a 12-year-old girl named Denia Osorto Corrales, a beautiful child with a beaming smile and a damaged heart that threatened to take her life. Alan and Julie agreed they couldn't walk away.

"Julie and Alan did something truly remarkable, something that involved personal sacrifice by giving service to someone who could not ever repay them or give them any...