|
A
remarkable career's climax:
|
|
| A role
model with deep roots in the community. A neighbor with a profound sense of responsibility. The jurist called upon to deliver justice in a trial with awesome implications for all of us, on an issue affecting man, woman, and child — cigarette smoking and health. A judge who cares.
"If we were only nicer to other people and respect the concept of good versus bad. We could uplift our society and our life by doing the right thing and respecting other people's property and other peoples' privacy."
"We have
"The people of the
younger generation, they think they require a handout. They don't have the concept of
respect; they don't have
|
Circuit Judge Robert P. Kaye's voice has been heard for 46 years, his aim steadfast on reaching half a century of serving as arbiter for his fellowman's problems. The spirit and compassion of the man seventy years young are the trademark of a remarkable jurist. Hard work has its rewards What makes one person more qualified than another to sit in judgment of people? It is training, professional experience, and dedication. "It's also life's experience, how you were brought up, and what you truly believe in," Judge Kaye adds with his attention-inspiring, pleasant voice. The Bronx, New York native, raised in a modest-income family environment, moved to Miami when he was thirteen. He dreamed of making it big in radio. Upon graduation from Miami Beach High School in 1946, he chose the University of Florida for a formal education in political science and broadcasting. The university also gave him an opportunity to help ease the family's burden paying for the education while giving him a start in his career when WRUF Radio hired him in 1948. Bachelor of Arts degree earned, the aspiring radio man returned to the Big Apple to fulfill his dream. But then the Army called — the Korean War demanded the young man's service for his country. After discharge from the Army, Robert Kaye entered law school with the help of the GI Bill because he had listened to his father and fondly remembers the advice: Whatever you do, get a license and put it in your back pocket because you'll never know if some day you may need it. The investment in his college education and hands-on radio experience helped finding work at a Miami radio station as a disk jockey while he attended the University of Miami School of Law. He graduated in 1957. "All those years from 17 through 28, I hardly had any social life," Kaye recalls proudly, perhaps with a flicker of sad nostalgia. "I worked while going to school to help my parents support me reaching my goal for a good education." Robert Kaye didn't want to be a lawyer because being in radio was far more fun. When WQAM introduced popular rock and roll, he became a newscaster. "I couldn't stand the music," he confesses. It was a beneficial switch because he enjoyed that exciting, interesting field of newscasting. He became exposed to life and learned a great deal from that experience. The fledgling lawyer went to work at a Miami law firm during the day and continued radio newscasting at night. Today, the respected Miami jurist, with 23 years in broadcasting and 41 years in law since graduating from law school, credits his ability as a judge on yet another lesson in life: one day in 1970 he changed jobs, it didn't work out, and he got fired. "I went around looking for another job. With my experience and at my age I was at the top of my field and had priced myself out of the market." The year was 1970 when Robert Kaye was asked by Dade State Attorney Richard Gerstein to become an assistant state attorney. He rapidly rose in rank to chief prosecutor during Janet Reno's tenure. He prosecuted major crimes including murder. The next step up is becoming a judge. Robert Kaye reached that goal when he was recognized for his hard work and qualifications by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Governor Bob Graham appointed Judge Kaye to the bench in 1980. He ran for election and won by an overwhelming margin in 1982; in the 1988 election the Judge was unopposed. Up for reelection in 1994, the jurist with a voice of compassion, a heart of understanding, and a sense of fairness formed by his family upbringing and real-life experience, again made the commitment to serve his community for yet another term in the Circuit Court. He won his community’s overwhelming vote of confidence. Guiding fellow lawyers "I have a message for young lawyers when I swear them in as members of the legal profession," Judge Kaye turns to his role as peer. "I instill the concept of honesty and integrity and say to them, I don't care what case you handle, if you cannot meet the test of honesty and integrity with that case, then don't handle it." The lawyer who has earned the honor to be a judge raises his voice of criticism: there are too many lawyers who go for the money. He talks of professionals selling their soul for money, ignoring that a lawyer's bond is his word. Judge Kaye's life experience and ethics speak: "Once you have compromised your principles, you have lost them." Today, we meet lawyers who are combatants, he explains. They learn it in law school or they learn it from their peers. They don't trust each other, they do not cooperate with each other, they come to hearings and do not talk to each other. They do not communicate. "How can you run a law practice if you do not talk to the other side?" the seasoned jurist questions. Then, in the next breath, after a moment's reflection, he compares the courtroom with a battle field and concludes, "The court proceeding at times degenerates into a gigantic fight and it shouldn't." He shares a prominent Miami attorney's views. "One well-respected lawyer told me the other day there was a time when being a lawyer was a calling, then it became a profession, then it degenerated into a business which it is today. And what it will be tomorrow, God only knows. And he is absolutely correct." I love my job Judge Kaye has served in the criminal, civil, and family divisions of the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court — 18 years of striving to make fair and just decisions. "It's a wonderful job. I love it," Judge Kaye says proudly. "At times it is also very frustrating, especially in the family division," he hastens to add. His peers respect the man and the job he does. An overwhelming majority of judges and lawyers have ranked him exceptionally qualified or qualified in every poll taken since his appointment by Governor Graham in 1980. Judge Kaye understands life — the suffering of the oppressed and persecuted. His wife's family is from Lithuania. Driven from their homeland in the turmoil of World War II, during her parents' flight, Aurelija, the future wife of an American judge, was born in Germany into the suffering caused by the war. Her parents, dispossessed, having left behind their home and all their worldly possessions, were forced to begin anew and raise a child brought into the world under the worst of circumstances that life can imagine. Mrs. Kaye's mother, a courageous woman, has told the story of their suffering at the hands of other people many times, the judge recalls. It's one of those close-to-home life experiences the judge calls on: "If we were only nicer to other people and respect the concept of good versus bad. We could uplift our society and our life by doing the right thing and respecting other people's property and other peoples' privacy." He feels strongly that the ability to get along with people rather than hurt people will protect our right to own things without the fear of having it destroyed or stolen. "We have the right to live in our home without fear of getting robbed or hurt," he says. "We have to make people understand that," he adds with resoluteness. "Educated people can. Hard-working people understand." Judge Robert Kaye knows our future lies with our children and he shares his thoughts with hopes they will be heard: The people of the younger generation, they think they require a handout. They don't have the concept of respect; they don't have self-respect because it is not taught. How can they respect others? "My parents taught me the difference between good and bad," the respected jurist reaches back to his childhood. Built onto this foundation, eighteen years of sitting in judgment of other people have given the community a judge who understands life. A judge who cares.
|
