26 Facts About Craig Waters

Craig Waters was the public information officer and communications director for the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee from June 1,1996, through February 28,2022.

Craig Waters is known for his work in open government and First Amendment rights, both as a lawyer and as a governmental official.

Craig Waters is known as the public spokesman for the Court during the 2000 presidential election controversy, when he frequently appeared on worldwide newscasts announcing rulings in lawsuits over Florida's decisive vote in the election.

Craig Waters began work at the Florida Supreme Court on March 2,1987 as a law clerk.

Under the administration of Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, Craig Waters led the Florida Supreme Court's efforts to begin webcasting video of all of its oral arguments when the technology to do so first became available.

The plan is being implemented through an organization Craig Waters founded a decade earlier, the Florida Court Public Information Officers, Inc.

Craig Waters is portrayed in the HBO Movie Recount by the actor Alex Staggs.

Staggs reenacts two scenes in which Craig Waters announced the result of Florida Supreme Court decisions.

The first decision occurred on November 21,2000, when Craig Waters announced a court ruling extending the vote-counting deadline previously set by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

The second was on December 8,2000, when Craig Waters announced a decision requiring a statewide recount of ballots.

Craig Waters is coauthor of a comprehensive article on Florida Supreme Court protocol and jurisdiction.

In 1997, Craig Waters led a project that put all Florida Supreme Court arguments on live television, cable, satellite, and web broadcasts.

Craig Waters was responsible for a pioneering effort started in 1994 to place all court documents in high-profile cases on the Web for instant public access.

Craig Waters changed that approach, first by putting large amounts of public information on the Florida Supreme Court website he maintained.

In September 1997 in cooperation with Florida State University, Craig Waters launched the first comprehensive program to broadcast all court arguments live on television, via satellite, on cable systems, and in webcasts.

Craig Waters worked in this capacity for nearly three years with Florida's first woman Justice, Rosemary Barkett from West Palm Beach.

Craig Waters has given many speeches on issues he has explored in his professional life, including one on at the 10th international Court Technology Conference organized in 2007 by the National Center for State Courts.

Craig Waters is coauthor of a professional paper describing how state and federal disability laws will require rethinking current practices in creating and maintaining court websites.

Craig Waters previously spoke on the technology of disasters, dealing with court emergency preparedness following the September 11,2001, terrorists attacks and the extensive hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005.

Craig Waters drew on his experiences with Bush v Gore and examined how the communications challenges of that earlier constitutional crisis might have played out using the technology available in 2014.

Craig Waters is founding president of the Florida Court Public Information Officers, Inc.

Craig Waters has been heavily involved in activities of The Florida Bar, including serving on the editorial board of the Florida Bar Journal and the Florida Bar News.

Craig Waters attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as an undergraduate, receiving his degree with honors in 1979.

Craig Waters received his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida College of Law in 1986.

At an early age, Craig Waters was placed on an advanced educational track because of high test scores in the Escambia County, Florida, school system.

Craig Waters remained on this track until graduation from high school.