Oral Argument Press Summaries
June 5-9, & 14, & 29, 2000

The following summaries are drawn from briefs and lower court judgments. They are meant to provide a general idea of facts and issues presented in cases, and should not be considered official court documents. Facts and issues presented in these summaries should be checked for accuracy against records and briefs, available from the Court, which provide more specific information.

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Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Monday, June 5, 2000
Arrive early. Times & order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice. Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.

The Florida Bar and Florida Association for Women Lawyers are delighted that the Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hold a ceremonial session to pay tribute to Florida's First 150 Women Lawyers on Wednesday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m. If you were unable to attend the May 25 gala dinner banquet in Bal Harbour honoring the First 150 Women Lawyers, you have a second opportunity to be part of this great celebration at the Florida Supreme Court. The supreme court's ceremonial session recognizing these trail-blazing women in the legal profession is the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon them and the First 150 Women Lawyers Committee is very proud.

Chief Justice Major Harding will preside over the ceremony, at which the full court will be present. Others who have been invited to participate in the program include Martha Barnett, President-elect of the American Bar Association; Jeanmarie Whalen, President of FAWL; Edith Osman, Florida Bar President; and Wendy Loquasto, First 150 Research Committee Co-Chair. The Honorable Rosemary Barkett, Judge of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, who was Florida's first female supreme court justice, will give a keynote address appropriate to the inspirational theme, "Look to the Past, Look to the Future."

To assist the court in accommodating everyone who plans to attend, please call (850) 561-5600 extension 6627 by June 7 to indicate you will attend. Do not pass up this unique second opportunity to share in a great moment in Florida Bar and women's history!
 
 

Justice Wells assumed his duties as Justice of the Supreme Court on June 16, 1994, after being appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles. Justice Wells is a native Floridian, born in Orlando on March 4, 1939, the son of Julia Talley Wells and J.R. Wells. In 1957, he graduated from William R. Boone High School in Orlando and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 1961. At Florida, he was president of the Florida Blue Key leadership honorary. He was elected to the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1961.

Upon receiving his juris doctor degree from the University of Florida in 1964, Justice Wells entered private practice with the law firm of Maguire, Voorhis, and Wells, P.A., in Orlando. He remained with that firm until 1969, at which time he served for one year as a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He returned to the firm in 1970 and remained there until 1976. He then formed the Orlando firm of Wells, Gattis, Hallowes, and Carpenter, P.A., where Justice Wells practiced law until his appointment to the Supreme Court.

During his twenty-eight years in private practice, he was a certified mediator of the Florida Circuit Court and United States District Court, and was certified by The Florida Bar Certification Program as a Civil Trial Attorney. While residing in Orlando, he actively participated in the Orange County Bar Association, serving as its president from 1989 through 1990. He was also actively involved in the Orange County Legal Aid Society from 1968 until 1994. From 1985 through 1994, Justice Wells participated in the Guardian Ad Litem Program, representing dependent and abused children in juvenile and domestic court proceedings. He was elected to The Florida Bar Board of Governors in 1990 and served in that capacity until 1994.

Justice Wells serves as the Supreme Court liaison or committee member to the Florida Courts Technology Commission, of which he is chair; the Article V Funding Steering Committee; and the Trial Court Performance and Accountability Committee. He also serves on the faculty and as a lecturer for the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies and the Circuit Judges Education Conference.

His religious and civic activities include membership in Trinity United Methodist Church, Tallahassee. Justice Wells also served in the United States Army.

Justice Wells and his wife Linda Fischer Wells, who is an attorney and former partner in the law firm of Carlton Fields, P.A., moved to Tallahassee from Orlando upon his appointment to the Supreme Court. They have three children, Charles Talley Wells, Jr., a lawyer in Orlando; Shelley Wells Collins, a medical doctor in Miami; and Ashley Dawn Wells, a law student at Northwestern University.