Florida News Service Segment: Rosemary Furman at the Florida Supreme Court, 1984

Practice of law--Cases

Legal assistance to the poor--Cases

Legal assistance to women--Cases

Legal services--Cases

Legal secretaries

Footage of the Florida Supreme Court justices entering the court then a cut to lawyers speaking in front of the justices in the case of The Florida Bar v. Furman (1984). Rosemary Furman then speaks to the press outside of the Florida Supreme Court building where she accuses the Florida Bar of harassing her and her clients.

Florida News Service

Channel 4 News Service

State Archives of Florida, Collection N2003-2

1984-02

video recordings (physical artifacts)

Moving Image

n2003-2_video002_005

/fpc/memory/omeka_images/video/thumbnailsnew/n2003-2_video002_005.jpg

Furman, Rosemary W., d. 1999

Alderman, James E., 1936-

Overton, Ben F. (Benjamin Frederick), 1926-2012

Adkins, James C. (James Calhoun), 1915-1994

Boyd, Joseph A., Jr., 1916-2007

Ehrlich, Raymond, 1918-2005

Shaw, Leander J., Jr., 1930-2015

McDonald, Parker Lee, 1924-2017

Florida. Supreme Court

Florida State Bar Association

Supreme Court Building (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1978-1985 : Alderman)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1974-1999 : Overton)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1969-1987 : Adkins)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1969-1987 : Boyd)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1981-1991 : Ehrlich)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1983-2003 : Shaw)

Florida. Supreme Court Justice (1979-1994 : McDonald)

0:02:08

n2003-2/n2003-2_video002_005.mp4

Tallahassee (Fla.)

Leon County (Fla.)

Rosemary Furman was a legal secretary in Jacksonville in the 1960s and 1970s. After starting her own legal secretary service and realizing a major need for affordable legal services in the area, she began helping poor women in Jacksonville fill out their legal paperwork. Since she wasn't a lawyer, the Florida Bar began a legal battle with Furman for the unlicensed practice of law that would take them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case ended with her having to close her legal secretary business, but the national media attention Furman brought to the issue of an affordable and accessible justice system pushed the Florida Bar to make some lasting changes.

Politics And Government