On April 13, the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association will celebrate their 43rd anniversary with their Second Annual Hall of Fame & Scholarship Gala. As part of the gala, the bar association will be inducting seven African American lawyers and jurists who have paved the way for diversity in the Central Florida legal community. Among these honorees are our very own Judge Alicia Latimore and Judge Reginald Whitehead.
Judge Latimore is no stranger to paving the way for diversity. It was in 2006 that she made history as our first African American female judge on the Ninth Circuit bench. Since then, she has inspired new generations of women to follow in her footsteps through her multitude of achievements and her work in bettering the community. Now, she serves as the Administrative Judge for our circuit’s Unified Problem Solving Court, making a difference in the lives of everyone who appears before her.
Before Judge Latimore took on the role of our Unified Problem Solving Court Administrative Judge, we had another who sought to improve the legal experience of those in our courts: Judge Reginald Whitehead. Since joining the Ninth in 1994 as one of our circuit’s first African American judges, Judge Whitehead has exhibited professionalism through both his dedication to the court and his mentoring of those around him. And, thirty years later, Judge Whitehead continues to make a difference in our courts through his work on the bench each and every day.
It is no question that these two esteemed jurists deserve the honor of the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association Hall of Fame induction. Congratulations to Judge Latimore and Judge Whitehead!