RIP Judge Paine

Well-written obit here:

The flag outside the federal courthouse flies at half-mast this morning following the death Sunday of one of Palm Beach County's longest serving, hardest working federal jurists, Sr. U.S. District Judge James C. Paine.

Paine, 85, died after spending his final few days in hospice care. Funeral services are preliminarily planned for Thursday, his son, Jim Paine said.

Paine was appointed a federal judge by President Carter in 1979, retiring 28 years later in 2007.

He worked so much there was a joke around the federal courthouse: How did you know Judge Paine was on vacation? He wore a plaid shirt to work.

If you ask a passel of South Florida lawyers about Paine — winners or losers in cases from all quarters — many will mention his impartiality and demeanor. That he was the perfect persona of a federal judge, yet still a humble human being.

The world needs more judges like him; he will be missed.