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A History of the Florida Supreme Court

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A History of the Florida Supreme Court University of Miami Law Review Volume 35 Number 5 Article 7 9-1-1981 A History of the Florida Supreme Court The Honorable Joseph A. Boyd Jr. Randall Reder Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr Recommended Citation The Honorable Joseph A. Boyd Jr. and Randall Reder, A History of the Florida Supreme Court, 35 U. Miami L. Rev. 1019 (1981) Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol35/iss5/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLES A History of the Florida Supreme Court THE HONORABLE JOSEPH A. BOYD, JR.* and RANDALL REDER** To a certain extent, the development of Florida'smodern ju- dicial processes and institutions can be understood by looking closely at the history of the individuals who have served on the state's foremost judicial body, the Florida Supreme Court. Un- fortunately, many of the historical insights and anecdotes con- cerning the justices have been lost or are scattered over many different sources. This article pulls together many of these scattered materials and presents an insider's look into the lives and aspirationsof the men who have served and shaped Flor- ida's Supreme Court. I. THE TERRITORIAL COURTS OF FLORIDA ................................... 1019 II. FLORIDA'S FIRST SUPREME COURT ........................................ 1020 III. THE ANTEBELLUM SUPREME COURT ...................................... 1026 IV. THE SUPREME COURT DURING THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ......... 1030 V. THE SUPREME COURT AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY ...................... 1040 VI. THE SUPREME COURT AFTER WORLD WAR I ............................... 1048 VII. THE SUPREME COURT AFTER WORLD WAR II .............................. 1057 VIII. THE SUPREME COURT TODAY ............................................ 1064 I. THE TERRITORIAL COURTS OF FLORIDA The cession of the Florida territory to the United States in the early nineteenth century ended the colonial chapter in Florida's history during which the territory had been the object of bitter ri- valries between the great colonial empires. The early colonists did not, however, leave a lasting impact on Florida's judicial process. Rather, Florida's modern court system originated from the territo- rial courts that were established after the United States acquired East and West Florida from Spain in 1821. At that time, Major * Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida; J.D., University of Miami School of Law. ** Research Assistant to the Honorable Joseph A. Boyd, Jr., Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida; J.D., Florida State University College of Law. 1. Prior, The Judicial System of Florida, in 2 C. TEBEAU & R. CARSON, FLORIDA FROM INDIAN TRAIL TO SPACE AGE 208 (1965). Louisiana's judicial institutions, on the other hand, 1019 !1020 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW REVIEW [Vol. 35:1019 General Andrew Jackson, who had been appointed governor of the acquired territory by President James Monroe,2 divided East and West Florida into two counties, Escambia and St. Johns.' By exec- utive order, General Jackson then established the first county courts and justice of the peace courts in each county,4 a move that gave welcome relief to Florida's residents, who until then had been 5 forced to fight lawlessness largely on their own. While the settlers of the new territory defended their communities against hostile Indians, pirates, and privateers, Con- gress began constructing Florida's legislative and judicial institu- tions. In 1822 Congress combined East and West Florida into the Territory of Florida and established a territorial government to re- place General Jackson's provisional administration.' Congress also established a superior court in both the eastern and western terri- tories, and empowered the United States President to appoint the judges.' Finally, Congress authorized the legislative council of the territory to establish inferior courts and justices of the peace.9 In 1824 Congress redivided the Florida territory into three ju- dicial districts. The Eastern District extended to the Suwannee River, the Western District included the territory west of the Apa- lachicola River, and the new Middle District encompassed the land between both rivers. 10 At the same time, Congress also established a court of appeals composed of the superior court judges from each district.11 It was this tribunal that became the model for Florida's first supreme court. II. FLORIDA'S FIRST SUPREME COURT Florida's first state constitution, which was drafted at the St. Joseph's Constitutional Convention in 1838,12 created the first still reflect the impact of the early French and Spanish colonists. Id. 2. See 22 THE TERRITORIAL PAPERS OF THE UNITED STATES 9 (C. Carter ed. 1958) [here- inafter cited as TERRITORIAL PAPERS]. 3. Buford, Something About the Supreme Court of Florida, 6 FLA. ST. B.A. L.J. 29 (1932). 4. Id. 5. Prior, supra note 1, at 209. 6. Act of March 30, 1822, ch. 13, 3 Stat. 654. 7. Id. § 6, 3 Stat. 656. 8. Id. § 8, 3 Stat. 657. 9. Id. § 6, 3 Stat. 656. 10. Act of May 26, 1824, ch. 163, § 1, 4 Stat. 45. 11. Id. § 4, 4 Stat. 46. 12. Whitfield, Whitfield's Notes, reprinted in 3 FLA. STAT. 81, 218 (1941) [hereinafter cited as Whitfield's Notes]. Five of the convention delegates, Walker Anderson, Thomas 1981] THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT 1021 state supreme court."3 It was not until Florida achieved statehood in 1845,'" however, that this judicial body was actually established. It had appellate jurisdiction only and the power to grant writs of injunction, mandamus, and habeas corpus."' Like the territorial court of appeals, the supreme court was not an independent tribu- nal, but rather consisted of the circuit court judges. 6 Besides establishing the first Florida Supreme Court, the state constitution made three additional changes in the judicial system worthy of mention. First, it redivided the state into the Western, Middle, Eastern, and Southern Circuits. 7 Second, the constitution provided that circuit judges would be elected by the state legisla- ture."' Finally, the constitution added the office of attorney general to the judicial system." In July 1845, the Florida General Assembly elected the circuit court judges who would also serve on Florida's first supreme court. The general assembly elected Thomas Baltzell, George S. Hawkins, Isaac H. Bronson, and William Marvin to serve as circuit court judges for the Middle, Western, Eastern, and Southern Circuits re- spectively.20 Two of those elected, Isaac Bronson and William Mar- vin, declined the invitation to serve. Thomas Douglas was ap- pointed to serve in place of Isaac Bronson, and George W. McCrae was appointed to replace William Marvin.2 The first session of the Florida Supreme Court convened in January 1846,22 and at that session Thomas Douglas was selected to serve as chief justice.2 The first four justices of the Florida Supreme Court all had interesting and colorful histories that reflected the diversity of the Florida population at that time. Justice Thomas Douglas, a native of Connecticut, did not settle in Florida until he was in his mid- thirties. He had left Connecticut for the Indiana Territory, and Baltzell, Benjamin D. Wright, Augustus G. Semmes, and Leslie A. Thompson later served on the Florida Supreme Court. Buford, supra note 3, at 30. 13. FLA. CONST. of 1838, art. V, § 1. 14. See Act of March 3, 1845, ch. 48, 5 Stat. 742. 15. FLA. CONST. of 1838, art. V, § 16. 16. Id. § 3. 17, Id. § 5. 18. Id. § 11. The legislature also elected the clerks of the Florida Supreme Court. Id. § 13. The court began appointing its own clerks in 1861. FLA. CONST. of 1861, art. V, § 12. 19. FLA. CONST. of 1838, art. V, § 16. 20. 2 R. RERICK, MEMOIRS OF FLORIDA 81 (1902). 21. Id. at 82. 22. Justice McCrae served pro tempore until his appointment in March 1846. Id. 23. 2 R. RERICK, supra note 20, at 82. 1022 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW REVIEW [Vol. 35:1019 there engaged in various business enterprises. 4 He then decided to pursue a career in law, serving as an Indiana circuit court judge while still continuing his legal studies." During a trip along Flor- ida's gulf coast, he visited Pensacola and fortuitously decided to apply for the position of district attorney for the Western District of Florida. His application was denied, but in 1826 his friends in Congress were influential in having him appointed district attorney for the Eastern District of Florida.2 6 He held that position until his appointment to the circuit court in 1845.2 Thomas Baltzell was one of the more colorful men to serve on the first Florida Supreme Court. Born in Frankfort, Kentucky on July 1, 1804, he was licensed to practice law in 1825 while still under the age of twenty-one." That same year, he moved to Flor- ida with Governor Duval and settled in Jackson County.2 In 1832 a quarrel he had with John D. Westcott, the Secretary of the Ter- ritory of Florida, grew so heated that they challenged one another to a duel. The two men met near Haden's Ferry on the Alabama border to settle their differences, and Baltzell wounded Westcott during the duel that ensued. 0 Fortunately, the wound was not se- rious, and Westcott later went on to become one of Florida's first United States Senators as well as the father of a future supreme court justice. 1 Justice Baltzell eventually represented Jackson County in the Legislative Council of 1832 and the St.
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