Edwin Harris Drew (October 28, 1903 – February 9, 1978) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida from August 18, 1952, to January 5, 1971, including two periods as chief justice.
E. Harris Drew | |
|---|---|
 Drew in 1964 | |
| Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court | |
| In office July 1, 1963 – July 1, 1965 | |
| Justice of the Florida Supreme Court | |
| In office August 18, 1952 – January 5, 1971 | |
| Appointed by | Fuller Warren |
| Preceded by | Roy H. Chapman |
| Succeeded by | Hal P. Dekle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 28, 1903 Fargo, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | February 9, 1978 (aged 74) Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
Born in Fargo, Georgia,[1][2] Drew was educated in the public schools of Florida,[3] and received an LL.B. from Stetson University in 1923.[2][3] That year, Drew entered the practice of law in Palm Beach County, including beginning lengthy service as an attorney for the Town of Palm Beach.[3] On June 10, 1927, Drew married Edith Turner of Cleaton, Kentucky,[4] with whom he had one daughter, Melanie.[3]
While maintaining his private practice, Drew was active in governmental affairs, serving as a member of the State Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission,[3][5] member and secretary of the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Port of Palm Beach,[5] and a member of the committee whose work resulted in the continuous statutory revision system which became effective in 1941.[3] Drew also served as president of the Stetson University Alumni Association.[2] In addition to continually serving as an attorney for the Town of Palm Beach, he was also an attorney for Jupiter Inlet District and Everglades Drainage District.[5] He also served as president of the Florida Bar Association, and on the committee that drafted the constitution and by-laws for its successor, The Florida Bar. Following this succession, he chaired the newly formed Committee on Judicial Administration of The Florida Bar.[5]
When Florida Supreme Court Justice Roy H. Chapman died suddenly in 1952, a state bar poll named Drew as one of the most qualified attorneys for consideration for the seat,[4][3] and Governor Fuller Warren subsequently appointed Drew to the court.[6][1][3] Drew was elected to the seat in his own right six months later.[6] and continued to be reelected thereafter. Drew served as chief justice from May 6, 1955, to January 8, 1957, and again from July 1, 1963, to July 1, 1965.[1]
In 1957, Drew was the sole Justice dissenting from a decision of the Florida Supreme Court to deny Virgil D. Hawkins admission to the University of Florida Law School on the basis that Hawkins was black.[7]
Drew died in Tallahassee, Florida.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).
- ^ a b c The Florida Handbook (1970), Vol. 12, p. 161.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Florida Municipal Record (1952), Vol. 25-26, p. 2.
- ^ a b Panama City News-Herald (August 12, 1952), p. 2.
- ^ a b c d Florida State University Law Review (1978), Vol. 6, p. ii.
- ^ a b Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder, "A History of the Florida Supreme Court", University of Miami Law Review (1981), p. 1059.
- ^ Florida v. Hawkins, 93 So.2d 354 (Fla. Sup. Ct., March 8, 1957).