U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges of the Middle District of Florida will receive the 21st Annual Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award.

     The award, named for the late Edward J. Devitt, longtime chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, annually honors the distinguished career of an Article III judge of national stature.

     Recipients are selected whose decisions are characterized by wisdom, humanity, and commitment to the rule of law. Their writings demonstrate scholarship and dedication to the improvement of the judicial process. Their activities have helped improve the administration of justice, advance the rule of law, reinforce collegial ties within the judicial branch, or strengthen civic ties with local, national and international communities.

     Hodges was appointed to the District Court in 1971, and served as its chief judge from 1982 to 1989. He took senior status in 1999.

     He chaired the Judicial Conference of the United States Executive Committee from October 1, 1996 to October 1, 1999, and served as a committee member for five years.
Hodges served on a number of other Conference committees, including three years as chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

     He is a founder and former president of the American Inns of Court, Tampa Chapter, and in 1996, after moving to Jacksonville, served as president of the organization’s Jacksonville Chapter.

     The Devitt award is admininistered by the American Judicature Society. This year’s selection panel included U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; Judge Harry Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and Judge Fern Smith, director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., and a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.