Judge Paul Hawkes: Making History

Judge Paul Hawkes has his career in law and politics, and many of the things that he has done and experienced are notable both form a Floridia history perspective and, perhaps even an  American historical perspective.

1996 was a historic year for the Republican party in Florida. This is because 1996 was the first year that Republicans became the majority party in the House of Representatives since 1874. With the Florida Senate having become majority Republican two years previously, Republicans controled the Florida legislature. Acting on this new opportuntiy to set policy, Republican legislators got down to work. Future judge, Paul Hawkes had the chance to work with them. Judge Paul Hawkes was able to serve as Special Counsel to Speaker of the House Daniel Webster. One of the first steps the new majority took, was to draft new Rules for the Florida House. Paul Hawkes served as the primary drafter of the new Rules that were designed to cut House beauracracy, level out power centers, and prioritize the House’s time.

But even though he would eventually become a judge, Paul Hawkes never drifted too far from the Florida House. In 2001, Paul Hawkes came back to the House in order to serve as Chief of Policy for Speaker Tom Feeney. In this position, Judge Paul Hawkes was able to advise Speaker Feeney on any policy issue that came up in the Florida House.

In the year 2000, Paul Hawkes had the opportunity to work with Gov. Jeb Bush. Paul Hawkes served as an 'efficiency czar' to help streamline operations and helped identify opportunities for outsourcing. In this position, the future Judge Paul Hawkes worked with the future Judge Brad Thomas to outsource food service in Florida state prisons. This proposal saved Florida taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

After being appointed to the First District Court of Appeal, Judge Paul Hawkes had the opportunity to serve as Chief Judge of the Court Of Appeal., Working with his collages on the court, Judge Paul Hawkes was insrumental in creating the first electronic filing system in a Florida appellate court, helped the court earn several Davis Productivity awards, and helped establish a special unit to handle workers’ compensation cases.