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Salcines Prepares To Leave Bench

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By THOMAS W. KRAUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

TAMPA - In Hillsborough County, the name E.J. Salcines is virtually synonymous with the word "lawyer."

He helped scores of local students attend his alma mater, South Texas College of Law. In a banner career, he served as Hillsborough County solicitor, Hillsborough County state attorney and appeals court judge. A significant number of sitting judges in Hillsborough County got their start in law because Salcines hired them.

On July 18, Salcines' 70th birthday, he will retire from his seat on the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

He's not happy to go.

The Florida Constitution mandates that judges must retire at 70.

"I attain constitutional senility on July 18," Salcines joked Thursday.

He said he will apply to become a senior judge, a substitute for other judges.
Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman said Salcines hired him right out of the Air Force, when Salcines was Hillsborough County solicitor. Timmerman rattled off names of about a dozen current judges who started their careers working for Salcines: Ronald Ficarrotta, Nick Nazaretian, Sam Pendino, Rex Barbas, J. Rogers Padgett, William Fuente, Barbara Fleischer.

"I love that man as much as I love anybody on this Earth," Timmerman said.

Emiliano Jose Salcines was born in Tampa, graduated from Riverside Military Academy and attended Florida Southern College.

In 1963, he finished his law degree at South Texas College of Law. His tenure at the school, including 16 years on its Board of Trustees, has dug a well-worn path between Tampa and Houston for local law students. Among local lawyers who graduated from South Texas are State Attorney Mark Ober and Public Defender Julianne Holt.

In the mid-1980s, while Salcines was state attorney, federal prosecutors tried to prove his administration was taking bribes and fixing cases.

Under the advice of attorney Barry Cohen, Salcines invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before a grand jury. Salcines was never charged with a crime, but voters opted not to re-elect him in 1985.

Political resurrection came in 1998. Then-Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed Salcines as an appeals court judge.

In a letter sent last month to Gov. Charlie Crist, Salcines said he was thankful for two "great career opportunities," serving as the county's top prosecutor for 16 years then serving as a judge.

The governor wrote back with praise and thanks.

"By contributing your talents to the people of Florida," Crist wrote, "you have made our state a better place."

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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