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ACLU of Florida Annual Banquet
The ACLU Foundation of Florida will commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the American Civil Liberties Union and honor civil rights attorney William J. Sheppard with the 2000 Nelson Poynter Award at its annual Award Banquet on Saturday, December 2. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables. An open bar reception will begin at 7 p.m. Banquet festivities begin at 8 p.m.
The Nelson Poynter Award is given annually to individuals who have worked tirelessly to advance civil liberties and civil rights in Florida. Past recipients include former Governor LeRoy Collins, former State Sen. Jack Gordon, Chesterfield Smith, State Rep. Lois Frankel, former Florida Supreme Court Justice (now federal judge) Rosemary Barkett, and former Miami-Dade County School Board Member Janet McAliley. Former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan was the 1999 Poynter Award recipient.
The award is named for Nelson Poynter, the former crusading editor and publisher of the St. Petersburg Times. To him, the Bill of Rights was meant for daily use - it was not an abstract document. Never afraid to stand up for popular causes, he fought racial segregation, staunchly defended the right of a free press and led the fight for Florida's Sunshine Law.
To reserve tickets or place your message in the Commemorative Program honoring the ACLU and Sheppard, please call Development Director CJ Fragola at (305) 576-2337 or return the completed coupon below.
A staunch civil libertarian, Sheppard has had a distinguished career defending civil liberties and civil rights. He currently serves as ACLU cooperating counsel in the Jacksonville school prayer case, Adler v. Duval County School Board, which challenges the school board's policy of allowing senior "chaplains" to lead prayers at graduation ceremonies — a violation of the U.S. Constitution's requirement of separation of church and state. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of students and parents in the public school district.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Sheppard received his bachelor's degree from Florida State University in 1963. After graduating, he joined the Army and was assigned to the Third Battalion of the 81st Artillery, which transported the first nuclear weapon to Korea in 1964. In 1967, he received his law degree from the University of Florida and worked as a bank lawyer for nearly two years. But the political strife of the times served as a turning point in his life. Like many of his contemporaries, the Vietnam War dominated Sheppard's thoughts and his opposition prompted him to join the anti-war movement. "When I reflected back and realized I could have pushed the button [in Korea], it changed my life," recalls Sheppard, who then decided to leave corporate law and start his own firm focusing primarily on civil rights litigation and criminal defense. He opened Jacksonville's first racially integrated law firm when he teamed up with former law partner Henry Lee Adams, who was later named the first black federal judge for the Middle District of Florida.
Sheppard litigated numerous class action lawsuits on behalf of prisoners, including Costello v. Wainwright , Miller v. Carson, and Arias v. Wainwright, which improved medical care and conditions of confinement in jails and prisons throughout the state.
Sheppard's wife of 14 years, Elizabeth, is a partner in his firm Sheppard, White and Thomas, P.A. They have six children, Lang, Laura, James, Camille, Max and Lillianna Rose.
