Donald Richard Moran, Jr. is a lawyer and judge at the Fourth Court in Florida for 41 years, including 21 years as Chief Justice, the longest term in the history of Florida. He was an early advocate of a diversion program for people with substance abuse and directed hundreds of people to treatment rather than prison.
Video Donald Moran
Personal life
Moran was born in 1945 and raised in Kentucky, receiving a Bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 1968. He holds a Doctor Juris degree from the Faculty of Law Fredric G. Levin at the University of Florida in 1973. Moran was accepted into the Florida Bar on 18 October 1973.
Judge Moran married Elaina Moody, daughter of Maxey Dell Moody, Jr., in 1979 and they had four children: Richard, Brendan, D'Arcy, and Donald III. They live on the River St. Johns in San Marco.
Their youngest son, Donald III, was severely wounded and paralyzed in the waist in 2008 after rolling his truck and was ejected. He was accused of driving under the influence after the accident. He was half-conscious when the police found him in the grass near his vehicle. Police do not believe Moran is wearing a seat belt. The level of alcohol in his blood is at least twice the legal limit of 0.08. Donald III was previously arrested in 2007 on DUI charges after being stopped by police in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
His eldest son Richard was arrested in 2012 after he refused the arrest and threatened the work of an officer. Duval County prosecutors dropped all charges against Richard after he completed the diversion program.
Maps Donald Moran
Careers
Moran served as Assistant State Attorney from 1973 to 1977, then Judge of the Duval District Court from 1977 to 1983. He was appointed to the Court of the Fourth Court of Justice in 1983 by Governor Bob Graham before being appointed Chief Justice in 1993. In his position he county systems and court circuitry in Duval, Clay and Nassau. According to The Florida Times-Union , "[h] e is also responsible for court budgets, court assignments and court rules." He is also active in drug legislation and adjudication, chairing the Florida Drug Court Steering Committee and serving as a judge for both adult drug courts (1994-2010) and juvenile drug courts (February 1997-January 1999), which he founded. A director for the National Metropolitan Court, he also serves as its president. He represented the state of Florida for the United States Judicial Conference from 1 July 2000. Judge Moran was named "Juris of the Year" 2003 by the Learning Advocates Chapter. The group stated, "Judge Moran... made a significant contribution to the improvement of the Florida court system, not just this year but throughout his career."
New Duval Courthouse
The Chief Judge has long been a vocal supporter of the new Duval County Courthouse. In January 1998, he announced that a new facility would be needed within the next decade. According to Judge Moran, "You're not just building a courthouse overnight, it takes a lot of planning and projection, so hopefully this new building will last for another 45 or 50 years."
Just two years later, the city responded with the Jacksonville 2000 Better Plan (BJP). A $ 190 million court building is the largest ticket item of a $ 2.25 billion project package funded by voters with a half-cent sales tax increase. The construction offer is much higher than expected, forcing some features of the planned facility to be cut. Moran is critical of many of the proposed modifications, arguing that the small savings will soon result in higher expenditure in the near future or the opening of structures at full capacity, requiring an urgent need for expansion.
In 2005, regardless of the "bluster and arm-twisting" judicial, as Ron Littlepage of the Florida Times-Union described it, Mayor Peyton announced plans to build a separate criminal courthouse in the city center to save money. Judge Moran spoke to the Jacksonville City Council on 9 August 2005 and stated that instead of approving Peyton's plan, the judges would prefer to stay where they are. Moran also complained that the courthouse project was deceived because the mayor wanted to move several million BJP bucks to another project. Moran complains that "his relationship with the Peyton administration is 'hostility in everything.' "The judge told the newspaper reporter that the city should" not do anything until money is available to make the new courthouse correct. "
In another section of opinion, Littlepage pointed out that Moran threatened to force Peyton to build a $ 400 million court building, which he thought was impossible, but the mayor left a separate court building proposal. On April 22, 2008, Peyton and Moran came together to urge the Jacksonville City Council to approve the $ 350 million county village complex they did. The complex can be opened on June 30, 2011, when Peyton leaves office.
Investigation of domestic violence
During the night of September 24, 2007, Elaina Moran called 911.
"I saw blood spots scattered in the victim's white clothes and in her hair.... she punched her husband or threw something at her.
Officials of the investigation noted that Moran and his wife were both drinking. On September 26, 2007, Judge Moran appointed Supreme Court Justice Charles O. Mitchell Jr. as a temporary presiding judge of police investigation, to prevent the emergence of irregularities.
During the interview, Moran told police that his wife not only consumed large quantities of wine, but also under drugs prescribed for depression.
It was the opinion of investigators that an arrest warrant should be issued to Elaina Moran on charges of domestic batteries and falsify police reports, but on Friday, September 28, Attorney General Harry Shorstein announced that no charges would be filed against Moran. While Shorstein agrees with the investigator in clearing Moran, he chooses not to prosecute Elaina Moran because the level of violence does not seem to guarantee prosecution and because he is afraid to sue him may "prevent victims of domestic violence from coming to fear that they may be accused of lying and possibly prosecuted ", a concern Siler recognized as legitimate. Shorstein, who had known the Morans for a long time, rejected the special treatment of the case, but admitted that "many residents who called his office... showed that he was showing favoritism towards Judge Moran," who had told him of his wish not to be prosecuted..
Judge Moran returned to work on Monday, October 1, after he was released from all charges.
References
External links
- Jacksonville City: Judicial Profile
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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