E. Harris Drew

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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.

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[]

  1. ^ a b c d Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).
  2. ^ a b c The Florida Handbook (1970), Vol. 12, p. 161.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Florida Municipal Record (1952), Vol. 25-26, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b Panama City News-Herald (August 12, 1952), p. 2
  5. ^ a b c d Florida State University Law Review (1978), Vol. 6, p. ii.
  6. ^ a b Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder, "A History of the Florida Supreme Court", University of Miami Law Review (1981), p. 1059.
  7. ^ Florida v. Hawkins, 93 So.2d 354 (Fla. Sup. Ct., March 8, 1957).
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
1952–1971 		Succeeded by
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