Courthouse gets new name

During a celebration honoring him today; the courthouse will be named for Senior Circuit Judge Richard Watson.

The special recognition will be the first order of business for the St. Johns County Commissioners when their meeting opens at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 1.

Judge Watson was reported to have said “Integrity. It’s the indispensable quality for every judge.” according to an article written by Richard Prior and published in The Record on Monday.

Prior’s story went on to say “It’s also the quality that other judges kept coming back to when describing Watson, for whom the St. Johns County Courthouse will be named during an April 1 celebration.”

Quotes from Senior U.S. District Judge Howell W. Melton, Circuit Judge John M. Alexander, administrative judge for St. Johns County and Circuit Judge Kim C. Hammond from Bunnell all praised Watson and supported renaming the St. Johns County Courthouse to the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center.

Full story at The Record