McCabe, Minnis honored
March 10, 2021 - Two legal icons in Pinellas County will be remembered through actions of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. The board voted to name the State Attorney’s wing within the Pinellas County Justice Center after Bernie McCabe, the longtime Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney who died in January. The board also voted to name the Pinellas County Law Library in the Clearwater Courthouse after Fred G. Minnis Sr., the county’s first full-time African-American attorney. The decision to honor Minnis, who died in 1991, was prompted by a nomination from the Fred G. Minnis, Sr. Bar Association, an organization that supports minority lawyers in Pinellas County. Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, proposed renaming the entire Justice Center after McCabe, but several defense attorneys opposed that move. "I think the name, Pinellas County Justice Center, sends a powerful message to people walking through those doors," said Commissioner Pat Gerard. "I think it's important that people understand that the justice system is centered in that building, not just the prosector's office or the public defender's office, but the justice that this county hands out is located there."