Cancer claims State Courts Administrator Ken Palmer.

Florida State Courts Administrator Ken Palmer, recognized as a national leader for his expertise in court administration, died April 20 in Tallahassee of cancer. He was 54.

He was presented last year with the Justice Management Institute's Ernest C. Friesen Award of Excellence and has been nominated for this year's award of merit from the National Association for Court Management.

"Ken took the Office of State Courts Administrator and turned it into today's comprehensive statewide network supporting Florida's trial and appellate courts and the more than 800 judges who sit on them," Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Wells said. "He was known and beloved for his wit and expertise throughout Florida and the United States and will be sorely missed here."

Supreme Court personnel, including from the Office of the State Courts Administrator, packed the court's chambers April 20 after learning of Palmer's death to reminisce about the man who had headed the administrator's office since 1984. Outside the court, the flag flew at half mast.

Justice Major B. Harding recalled the esteem Palmer had earned not only among the court's personnel but also among legislators and legislative staff for his expertise about the court system.

He recalled one legislator who told him, "'We don't always like what Ken tells us, but we always respect it.' I think that's a wonderful tribute."

Justice Leander Shaw noted that chief justices serve only two-year terms, which can make for continuity problems on the court. But that didn't happen, he said, because "Ken was the glue, he was the continuity. Every chief who came in, the first person you called up was Ken Palmer. He always had an answer, and it was a good answer on why things were done a certain way.

"The state of Florida, not just the court system and his family, has suffered a loss."

Justice Harry Lee Anstead recalled how, after becoming chief judge of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, he met with Palmer to talk over court issues.

"What struck me immediately was the idealism Ken and I shared about improving the administration of justice," he said. "That was his constant goal, and he spread it to others."

But he said Palmer also demonstrated lessons outside purely work issues. "I think all of us over our time of life struggle with the meaning of life," Anstead said. "The one thing I've become certain of as I've gotten older is the meaning of life is others and the relationship we have with others."

Palmer, he said, understood that and he encouraged the court staff to "remember how he treated others."

In their comments, the staffers told how Palmer strove not only to give them opportunities but also understood the importance of families.

Margie Howard, chief of personnel services, recounted how last year her daughter-in-law, after giving birth to her second child, suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage and was in critical condition in the hospital.

Palmer, who had recently been diagnosed with his cancer, called up on a Saturday and announced he was bringing a dinner he especially cooked for her family, including turkey and a special-recipe pie.

And when Howard was back at work, Palmer made it a point to regularly inquire after her daughter-in-law's health. "Ken was truly, truly a caring professional," she said.

There also was the time Sondra Williams, a senior court analyst, had promised Palmer a report by a certain Friday, and then the night before her husband was injured and had to make two trips to the emergency room. She called in the next day to discuss the report and see if it might be okay if she didn't come in. When Palmer found out the situation, "He said, 'Why are you talking to me? You need to be with your family."'

Deputy State Courts Administrator Dee Beranek recalled how on bad days staffers would gather in Palmer's office and moan about their problems and difficulties.

"He would commiserate, then he'd get up and walk around and give you a great big hug," she said. "I suppose if Ken were here today, he'd give us a great big hug."

She invited those in the courtroom to exchange hugs. And they did, along with smiles and encouragement.

Wells closed the session by saying, "We're going to make it through these next several days, which are going to be very hard.... We're going to all have to hold on to each other."

Palmer was born in Detroit and raised in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from Florida State University in 1968 with a degree in history and then earned a master's in education in 1970. While there, he was also a member of the varsity swimming team.

In 1974, Palmer joined the Office of the State Courts Administrator, which had been created during the 1972 judicial reforms. In 1984, he was named as the state courts administrator, and at his death he was one of the longest serving state administrators in the nation.

During his tenure, the number of judges grew by a quarter and the number of filings grew by a third, reflecting the state's rapid growth.

Palmer addressed those demands with innovative programs that helped make Florida's judicial system a model for the nation. He oversaw improvements in technology and increasing use of computers that made the courts more efficient, the implementation of treatment-based drug courts, improvement in jury management, the creation of the family court division, increasing use of alternative dispute resolution, improvements in continuing education for judges, and long-range planning for the courts.

In recent years, Palmer's office instituted a legislatively-mandated new statistical method for determining the need for new judges, provided reams of statistics for the legislature's Supreme Court Workload Study Commission, and worked with the legislature on the voter-mandated shifting of court funding away from the counties and to the state, among other activities.

Recognition of his efforts was reflected in letters nominating him for the award of merit from the National Association for Court Management.

"Suffice it to say that Ken Palmer has been the primary motivating force behind an increase in proficiency of judicial administrators in this state through his implementation of Florida's family court initiative, Florida's treatment-based drug courts, alternative dispute resolution, and statewide interpreter testing," wrote 20th Circuit Chief Judge William L. Blackwell and 20th Circuit Court Administrator William D. Wilkinson. "He has also been involved in progressive jury management programs, grants administrations, strategic and operational plan developments, continuous quality improvement, and the use of computerized case management techniques.

"Throughout all this, Ken has been a champion and an avid supporter of the independence of the judiciary."

Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge Joseph Farina wrote, "Ken Palmer is, and has always been, the consummate professional.... He personifies the measure of civility that inspires my colleagues in the Bar and on, the bench, and those who work to administer a vast court system, to appreciate more than the result, but also the dynamic process that gets us there."

Palmer is survived by his two daughters, Victoria Parke Palmer and Kathryn Elizabeth Palmer, both of Tallahassee; his parents Howard and Margaret Palmer of Akron, and his sister Janet Budai of Stow, Ohio.