探花精选

Featured image courtesy of Orlando Sentinel Photo/Willie J. Allen Jr.聽(Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

Courtesy of Saint Augustine’s University/Jerrell Jordan

SANFORD, FL鈥� reported that on June 22, the Seminole County commissioners honored former Sanford judge and Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry by unanimously agreeing to name the new four-story courthouse annex being constructed at the county鈥檚 Five Points Complex after him. Perry is an alumnus of the Class of 1966 and Saint Augustine’s University ( 探花精选) board of trustees chairman.

鈥淗e is not only such a kind and a wise man, but he embodies the soul of the American spirit in my mind,鈥� said Commissioner Jay Zembower, who proposed naming the courthouse building after Perry, . 鈥淗e persisted at a time when many people would have given up.鈥�

The new courthouse annex is part of a $65-million construction project scheduled to be completed in May 2023 that will also add a five-story parking garage adjacent to the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center.

鈥淣ow more than ever the world needs global leaders embodied in our alumni like Chairman Perry,鈥� said Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail President of Saint Augustine鈥檚 University. 鈥淗e is a trailblazer who has achieved in spite of adversity and the Saint Augustine鈥檚 University community celebrates with him on receiving this well-deserved recognition.鈥�

Perry graduated from Saint Augustine鈥檚 University with a degree in business administration and accounting in 1966. He that he decided to pursue a career as an attorney after hearing of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while serving in the US Army as a first lieutenant in 1968. He earned his juris doctor from Columbia Law School in 1972 and moved to Sanford, Florida to practice law.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been a proponent of justice and the civil rights struggle,鈥� Perry . 鈥淏ut I knew that with a law degree, that would get me into places that I would otherwise not be able to get into.鈥�

In 2000, Perry became the first African American appointed to the 18th Judicial Circuit after being named as a circuit court judge in Sanford by then Governor Jeb Bush. Nine years later, he was appointed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist to the Florida Supreme Court. He retired on Dec. 30, 2016 because the state Constitution requires judges to step down at the age of 70.

Perry this week that he was not only honored and 鈥減leasantly surprised,鈥� but he hopes his name on the building will inspire future individuals to pursue their dreams.

鈥淚鈥檓 a humble person. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 all of that,鈥� he . 鈥淏ut I see part of my responsibility to inspire younger people 鈥� and inspire older people, too 鈥� who come from similar circumstances that I did and even those who didn鈥檛.鈥�