Lewis Buzzell was practically retired last year.
So much so, the 65-year-old jokes, he has his Medicare card.
But an old colleague wanted his help. More importantly, an office they both cared about needed them.
Buzzell and Charlie Cofer worked together at the 4th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office early in their careers.
Cofer became a judge, while Buzzell shuffled his time between the office, private practice and training lawyers in Afghanistan.
After the Matt Shirk scandal shook the office in 2013, Cofer decided to leave the bench and run for public defender against him.
Cofer knew early on he wanted Buzzell on his team if he won. Buzzell wasn’t as sure. He was in a comfortable place in his life.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to take on what I knew was going to be a mess,” he said.
But in the end, the “mess” is why he went back.
“I wanted to help restore this office to its former justly deserved reputation, which I thought had been lost under Mr. Shirk,” he said.
The office is where he started his 40-year career as a University of Florida Levin College of Law intern and will end it as chief assistant — with a lot of interesting travels between.
Growing up in an Air Force family
Buzzell is the only son of a teacher and an Air Force officer who was stationed abroad for several years. The family spent most of that time in England and Norway.
“The opportunity to live overseas when you’re that young I think helps give you a broader perspective down the road,” he said.
Buzzell particularly liked Norway, where they lived for more than three years. It was a great place for him and his three younger sisters to grow up, he said.
When he went back about 12 years ago, he could still find his way around a bit, he said, if he stuck to the main streets.
One place he didn’t recognize years after living there was Homestead, which he returned to help a friend after Hurricane Andrew destroyed the South Florida base and miles of homes around it.
The area where he grew up was completely leveled. So much so that there was a clear view of the bay to the east — an area where there were once homes, forests and the Air Force base.
“It was surreal,” he said. “I was driving around and didn’t even know where I was sometimes.”
Finding a career to match his talents
After majoring in history at the University of Florida, he decided to stay in Gainesville and attend law school.
“It seemed like something that fit what few talents I had,” Buzzell joked — reading, writing and talking.
It was during the 1970s, when social activism was high and he thought being a lawyer was a way to affect some positive changes.
Coming to Jacksonville was pure luck, he said.
After taking a trial advocacy class his junior year, an internship program offered opportunities in Gainesville, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville.
He didn’t immediately apply for an assignment and ultimately received an opportunity in the public defender’s office in Jacksonville in the mid-1970s.
He had a friend in town who offered to let him stay with him and share expenses on his apartment.
“I literally didn’t know five people in the city when I came here,” Buzzell said.
He got the opportunity to be in court, which he loved, and he enjoyed working with the clients.
He assisted senior attorneys on the infamous kidnapping case of Sheri Jaffa, the wife of a developer, who was taken at gunpoint. She was tied to a tree in the woods for nearly four days and left with no food or water, but survived.
Jack McWilliams was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died in August at age 79.
Enjoying learning from the best
The internship was life-changing. It introduced him to Lou Frost, the legendary public defender who served 36 years, and his chief assistant, Bill White.
Frost was a great boss, Buzzell said, and White was one of the best attorneys he’s ever seen, even to this day. He was quick on his feet, with a legal analysis second to none and remarkable communication skills, Buzzell said of White.
After graduating from law school, Buzzell returned to the office for about seven years, where he handled everything from misdemeanor cases to capital murder trials.
He then spent several years in private practice and worked for the former Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services agency before coming back in 1992 to work for Frost and then White, after Frost retired in 2004.
White served one term before losing to Shirk in 2008.
Buzzell, who was director of the Clay County office at the time, was one of the few senior attorneys Shirk kept, but it wasn’t for long. He left to return to private practice and be an adjunct professor at Flagler College.
He also spent nearly a year in a war-zone in Afghanistan training attorneys, with longtime former 8th Circuit Public Defender Rick Parker.
Though he never saw any of the violence, many of his colleagues did.
Several of them were at a religious festival in December 2011 when a suicide bomber walked into the crowd and killed dozens of people. While none of Buzzell’s colleagues were injured, one suffered from PTSD and had to quit his job.
The closest explosions Buzzell heard were probably seven to 10 miles away. “I was lucky,” he said.
For the nearly 11 months he was there, Buzzell lived and worked in a compound and traveled in armored cars, often wearing a flak jacket.
Reluctant to return but happy to help
Buzzell freely admits he was hesitant when Cofer talked to him about coming back. But it was important to Cofer for Buzzell and another former colleague, Alan Chipperfield, to join him.
The former judge said Buzzell has great instincts on the tactical aspects of handling cases and has great recall of details.
The two stayed in touch over the years, including having Jacksonville Jaguars season tickets next to each other.
Cofer knows Buzzell was at a point where he was ready to retire after a good career.
He said part of Buzzell’s coming back is because of their friendship and part is to help restore the office to what it was.
He said Buzzell already is making a difference, including addressing organizational issues and working with the younger attorneys.
Cofer said Buzzell has given him a commitment of staying at least a year — book-ending his career at a place he truly cares about.
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