Hal Peb Dekle (November 21, 1917 – May 23, 2005) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida from January 5, 1971, to April 30, 1975.[1]

Hal P. Dekle
Dekle in 1972
Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
In office
January 5, 1971 – April 30, 1975
Preceded byE. Harris Drew
Succeeded byAlan C. Sundberg
Personal details
Born(1917-11-21)November 21, 1917
Venice, Florida, U.S.
DiedMay 23, 2005(2005-05-23) (aged 87)
Brandon, Florida, U.S.

Born in Venice, Florida, Dekle entered the practice of law in 1940, becoming successful in civil practice.[2] He became a trial judge in Miami, and ran for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court in 1968, but lost in the primaries to Vassar B. Carlton.[3] However, Dekle was then elected to in 1970, following the early retirement of Justice E. Harris Drew.[3]

In 1975, Dekle was investigated along with fellow justice David L. McCain regarding "allegations they had intervened in cases to help friends",[2] arising "when a clerk went public with details of a lawyer for a utility writing an opinion for the justices".[4] Both justices resigned rather than face an impeachment investigation in the Florida House of Representatives.[2][5][6][7]

Dekle died in Brandon, Florida.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).
  2. ^ a b c "Hal Dekle, 87, former high court justice", South Florida Sun Sentinel (May 27, 2005), 6B.
  3. ^ a b Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder, "A History of the Florida Supreme Court", University of Miami Law Review (1981), p. 1062-1063.
  4. ^ Michael A. Genovese, Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, Corruption and American Politics (2010), p. 234.
  5. ^ Florida Supreme Court (February 17, 1975). "In Re Dekle, 308 So. 2d 5 (1975) No. 46600". law.justia.com.
  6. ^ Florida Supreme Court. "Justice Hal P. Dekle". floridasupremecourt.org.
  7. ^ Michael A. Genovese (2010). "Corruption and American Politics, page 234".
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
1971–1975
Succeeded by