Stetson Legislation Neighborhood Mourns The Decline Of Alumnus And Longtime Supporter Bernie McCabe

The Stetson Law neighborhood mourns the decline of alumnus and Board of Overseers member Bernard J. “Bernie” McCabe Jr., who died on Jan. 1, 2021, at the age of 73.

“His demise is a large reduction for us and the local community,” stated Dean Michèle Alexandre.

McCabe was a “Double Hatter,” earning his BA in 1969 and JD in 1972. Even though at the University of Legislation he was chief justice of the honor court docket, on the editorial board of the initial Stetson Law Assessment, and was elected president of his senior course. He also labored in Stetson’s initially Prosecution Clinic, which helped cement his future occupation path.

Immediately after graduating from Stetson Legislation, he was employed as an Assistant Condition Attorney. He moved up the ranks in the office and in the long run was elected to Condition Lawyer of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida in 1992, a position he held until finally his demise.

Fred Schaub is a Stetson Law alumnus who worked with McCabe for far more than 35 yrs in the prosecutor’s business and taught with him in the Stetson Prosecution Clinic for 28 a long time. He stated McCabe suggested youthful prosecutors to be conscious of their professionalism and ethics, to take the complicated cases and not appear for the quick way out, and earlier mentioned all, to “often do the correct thing and you can by no means make a mistake.”

“Bernie McCabe was a single of the brightest people I have at any time fulfilled” and a “incredible trial attorney,” Schaub claimed.

By means of the a long time, McCabe attained a track record as a diligent and ethical prosecutor with a worry for his local community. He managed the State Attorney’s Office through a interval of extraordinary development and improve and executed various new initiatives to deal with unique group problems, which includes domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, and household dependency.

“Bernie McCabe was an excellent Point out Legal professional who completed so a great deal for the duration of his distinguished occupation,” wrote Bob Gualtieri, Stetson Law alumnus and Pinellas County Sherriff. “He committed his life to general public basic safety.”

McCabe also served his alma mater in lots of methods. He joined the Board of Overseers in 1994, taught younger regulation learners as an Adjunct Professor, served as Prosecution Clinic supervisor, served as judge for a variety of mock demo competitions at the law college, and employed and mentored numerous Stetson Law alumni, like existing Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls.

“Between prosecutors and regulation enforcement officers, Bernie McCabe was a towering, heroic figure,” Sprowls wrote. “A accurate community servant, he led a lifetime fully commited to justice, fairness and truth of the matter. Bernie was my mentor and my close friend. I will miss him extra than I can place into terms, but I also know that I will have the lessons I acquired from him with me as a result of all the times of my lifetime.”

Christine E. Cerniglia, associate professor and director of Medical and Experiential Instruction who worked with McCabe for yrs on Stetson’s Prosecution Clinic, said he was a fierce supporter of scientific schooling.

“He genuinely considered in mentoring the next generation of attorneys and committed time every Monday evening to present direction and go over the legislation with pupils,” she said. “He was passionate about the regulation and guiding pupils in his clinic. To feel about his perseverance and the amount of pupils he individually mentored is certainly humbling. We will miss out on him on campus and our Stetson clinical local community feels a excellent decline. We will honor his legacy in some way that showcases his perseverance to university student learning.”

McCabe obtained numerous distinguished alumni recognitions, which includes the Paul M. May Meritorious Provider Award for continuous support of time and gifts to the Faculty of Regulation in 2003, induction into the Stetson Regulation Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Ben C. Willard Award for humanitarian achievements and endeavours to advantage the citizens of Florida in 2015.

He was also lively in a selection of local, point out, and nationwide non-gain and legal corporations, like the Florida Prosecuting Lawyers Affiliation, the Nationwide District Attorneys Affiliation, Past President of the First Phase Company, Chairman, Pinellas County Compound Abuse Advisory Board, the Juvenile Justice Board, the S.A.V.E. Advisory Board, the Condition Advisory Board for the Network for Seriously Emotionally Disturbed College students, and the Florida Sentencing Fee.

McCabe is survived by his wife of extra than 50 a long time, Denise, and their children, Jennifer and Patrick.


This press launch was manufactured by Stetson College School of Law. The views expressed are the author’s possess.