The Honorable E.J. Salcines, Jr '63
Judge Emiliano Jose (E.J.) Salcines was born in Tampa, Florida, on July 18, 1938. A graduate of Riverside Military Academy, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida Southern College in 1959 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1963 from South Texas College of Law where he served 16 years on its Board of Trustees, and the “E.J. Salcines Student Lounge” at the law school was dedicated in his honor. In 2002, Florida Southern College conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He has done postgraduate law studies and has been a visiting lecturer at Northwestern University Law School Summer Course for Prosecuting Attorneys continuously since 1974 to the present; the National College of District Attorneys; the Texas College of Trial Advocacy; and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Academy of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was licensed as a member of the Florida and Texas Bars in 1963 and the Supreme Court of the United States in 1967. He is the author of a Trial Manual on Predicate Questions which continues to be the “best seller” of the National District Attorneys Association and is distributed annually since 1974 as part of his summer lectures at Northwestern’s Law School.
Judge Salcines created and developed the first pilot program on pre-trial intervention programs that have become a standard throughout Florida. He is a founding Master/Lawyer in the Tampa Bay Inn of Court. In 1974, the Florida Supreme Court, upon nomination by Governor Reubin Askew, commissioned State Attorney E.J. Salcines as Florida’s first Special Prosecutor in charge of the first Statewide Grand Jury investigating and prosecuting narcotics smuggling and trafficking. Governor Bob Graham appointed State Attorney Salcines to the State Medical Examiners Commission where he served ten years (1975-1985).
In 1979 Judge Salcines was knighted by King Juan Carlos of Spain into the Royal Order of Queen Isabella. The President of the University of South Florida in 1993 awarded him the President’s Distinguished Citizen Award, and in 1996 he received the Distinguished Service Award for his years as a Trustee of the USF Foundation. In 1993 the City of Tampa recognized him as its Hispanic Man of the Year. He has received numerous awards from civic groups and Bar Associations including five Awards of Merit from the Florida and American Bar Associations for outstanding community service in law-oriented programs that he spearheaded.
Impact
“Pass It On” Florida Scholarship Fund: The College welcomes a large contingency of Florida students each year, thanks to the tradition of recommending South Texas to fellow Floridians initiated by E.J. Salcines ’63, Karl Adler ’62, and Tom Speer ’62. In August 2002, a group of Florida South Texas graduates formed a steering committee and raised money for a scholarship in their honor.. The scholarship will “pass on” financial assistance to second- or third-year students from Florida. It is awarded annually based on academic merit, potential leadership ability, community service, and financial need to students who have the intention of returning to Florida to practice law.