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Kissimmee
- St Cloud |
TOPICS OF INTEREST
Attorney conquers life’s trials By Susan Jacobson Kissimmee – Some people battle poverty. Others cope with disabilities. Still others suffer abuse. Mercedes León has triumphed over all three. León, 38, a former assistant Orange-Osceola public defender, recently opened a law office just steps from the New Osceola County Courthouse. Her journey from child born without feet to Cuban immigrant to hotel maid to practicing attorney is a testament to her drive, friends say. “Some people do 100 percent,” Osceola County Judge Ronald Legendre said. “Some people do 150 percent. She just gives 250 percent to anything she decides to do.” León was born with a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors, skin discoloration and sometimes, bone deformities and learning disabilities. In León’s case, her feet were little more than gnarled, misshapen knobs. Sixteen painful surgeries later – including the addition of artificial tendons and pins – she can walk, albeit with a slight limp. “I was so blessed,” León said. “I dance. I do everything.” Growing up in Cuba, León endured teasing from classmates who made fun of the casts she wore after her operations. They pushed her down a hill in her wheelchair and shoved her into rosebushes. Instead of growing dejected, she let the experience build her resolve. “It’s part of who I am,” she said. “It has really made me a stronger person.” León credits her mother, Aida Bennett, with instilling in her the importance of education. Bennett made sure her daughter never missed school in spite of hospital stays and doctor visits. Bennett carried her daughter in her arms to a city bus stop at 5 a.m. so they could get to the hospital for treatment, then delivered León to school by the 8:30 a.m. starting time. “My mother was the biggest inspiration,” León said, “I walk because of her dedication and commitment.” Immigration ordeal León’s parents separated, and she, her brother and mother moved to the United States in 1980. They went first to Costa Rica with 34 other illegal refugees and eventually chartered a small boat from Bimini to Florida. On the way, they were caught in a fearsome nighttime storm and were forced to toss their belongings overboard. As they did, she heard someone yell, “Dios mio,” – “My God.”. “That was my first encounter with God,” she said. “In Cuba, I never heard of God because it was Communist. [Now] every single day I thank God for my life 10 times.” León and the other refugees were forced to turn back to Bimini, but eventually made it to Miami Beach on another boat. Three bedrooms, 16 people Friends from Cuba then living in Orlando brought them to Central Florida, where they live din a three-bedroom house with 13 others. León and her mother, neither of whom spoke English, got minimum wage jobs as hotel housekeepers. They ate at a soup kitchen. They got their clothes at the Salvation Army. They eventually rented a little apartment in Kissimmee and furnished it with other people’s discarded furniture. Despite problems with her feet, León talked her way into a job as a server at Red Lobster on Vine Street, where she could earn tips. At one point, she and her mother each worked three jobs, including food-service positions at Walt Disney World, so they could buy a house. León taught herself English, partly by reading children’s books, including one of her favorites, Bambi, and by watching I Dream of Jeannie on TV. “She spoke so clearly,” León recalled of the show’s lead character. León married and had a son, Enrique Rodriguez, now 19 and a student at the University of Central Florida. She divorced, survived an abusive relationship and her father’s suicide, became a U.S. citizen and suffered through more surgeries. Realizing her health would not permit her to continue working as a server, León decided to go to college and law school. Her challenges made her keenly attuned to the problems of others, she said, while life in Cuba taught her the preciousness of freedom and gave her the will to fight injustice. “I said, I can reach 35 as a waitress or I can reach 35 as an attorney,” León said. Outstanding student With her characteristic determination, León graduated from Valencia Community College and the University of Tampa, where she was named one of three outstanding seniors, founded the Organization of Future Lawyers and tutored middle-school students in English. León got her scholarships to Stetson University College of Law and graduated in 1998. She decided she wanted to join the Orange-Osceola Public Defender’s Office, so she wrote to then-Public Defender Joe DuRocher every month, declaring that she would persist until he hired her. Last year, she was at the center of a high-profile case when she represented a 15-year-old tourist who abandoned her newborn in an Orlando hotel parking garage. A judge sentenced the teenager to live in a group home after she pleaded no contest to attempted manslaughter and child neglect. The child was put up for adoption. In August, León and fellow former assistant public defender John Gillespie incorporated their new firm, León, Gillespie & Associates. They handle everything from criminal defense to family law. “She’s got a very strong desire to succeed, and she’s got a very serious
desire to help people,” Gillespie said. Happily married to Robert Durham, a salesman and food server, León has her sights set on being a judge. “And maybe – who knows – the public defender,” she said. Although her illness makes León susceptible to more tumors – she has one on the bottom of her left foot – she says she doesn’t worry because she is busy living. “I want people to know that there is always a way,” León said. “If you are determined you can make it in this country no matter how difficult it is.” Susan Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-931-5946. |
Criminal Defense
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