Election 2000 Memory Project

court-news-fcp
Justice Charles Wells and Justice Leander Shaw listen during the December 7, 2000, oral arguments

Justice Charles Wells and Justice Leander Shaw listen during the December 7, 2000, oral arguments

November 2020 marked the twentieth anniversary of the Bush v. Gore presidential election cases at the Florida Supreme Court.  In the courtroom on November 20, 2000, and December 7, 2000, for the first time in US history, appellate court oral arguments were broadcast live in their entirety to a global audience.  While the world watched, lawyers argued over how to decide who would become the forty-third president of the United States: George W. Bush or Albert Gore, Jr.

In keeping with its mission to preserve Florida Supreme Court history, the archives of the Florida Supreme Court Library, in collaboration with the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, invited people involved in Florida’s 2000 presidential election disputes to submit their written memories for collection.  The goal was to gather as much information as possible from this important period of court history—documentation for inclusion in a permanent archive of election-related materials.  The fruit of this effort, the Election 2000 Memory Project, captures reflections of court life from those two months in 2000.

The media, the public, and protesters outside the Florida Supreme Court Building during the November 20, 2000, oral arguments

The media, the public, and protesters outside the Florida Supreme Court Building during the November 20, 2000, oral arguments

Consolidated in the Memory Project are the recollections of the justices, staff attorneys, clerk staff, security personnel, and other court staff who experienced the day-to-day events in the supreme court building—coupled with the reminiscences of trial court judges and their staff, lawyers, local law enforcement, journalists, teachers, and others who got caught up in the dramatic events as they unfolded.  The Memory Project presents a comprehensive picture of court life during those extraordinary months and provides valuable historical insights into this tense and intense period in American history.  Told in the authors’ words and conveying their personal experiences of that epoch, the accounts—which include remembrances of angry phone calls, bulletproof vests, website crashes, and broken copy machines—signify that retrospections of the 2000 presidential election are diverse and compelling from all points of view.  Also included in the Memory Project is an evocative photo gallery.

The supreme court compiled the stories for print and web publications.  Excerpts will be used in educational materials, social media posts, and exhibits in the Florida Supreme Court Building.

By Beth C. Schwartz, Court Publications Writer
Last Modified: June 09, 2021