List of justices of the Supreme Court of Florida
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The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the Florida State Courts System. Its membership consists of seven justices–one of whom serves as Chief Justice–who are appointed by the Governor of Florida to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each term.
List of justices
- * denotes justices who served as chief justice for at least part of their tenure on the court while denotes currently-serving justices.
| No. | Justice | Assumed office | Vacated office | Succeeded | Appointed by | Reason for leaving | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Douglas* (1790–1855) | January 1846 | 1851 | Inaugural | Legislature | |||
| 2 | Thomas Baltzell* (1804–1866) | January 1846 | 1851 | Inaugural | Legislature | Defeated | ||
| 3 | George S. Hawkins (1808–1878) | January 1846 | 1851 | Inaugural | Legislature | |||
| 4 | George W. MacRae (1802–1858) | January 4, 1847 | January 7, 1848 | Inaugural | ||||
| 5 | Joseph B. Lancaster (1790–1856) | January 10, 1848 | 1853 | Inaugural | ||||
| 6 | Walker Anderson* (1801–1857) | January 1, 1851 | May 4, 1853 | Inaugural | Legislature | Resigned | ||
| 7 | Leslie A. Thompson (1806–1874) | January 1, 1851 | 1853 | Inaugural | Legislature | Defeated | ||
| 8 | Albert G. Semmes (1810–1883) | January 1, 1851 | 1853 | Inaugural | Legislature | |||
| 9 | Benjamin D. Wright (1799–1874) | May 24, 1853 | 1853 | Inaugural | Defeated | |||
| 1 | Thomas Douglas* (1637–1715) | 1854 | September 11, 1855 | Inaugural | Direct election | |||
| 2 | Thomas Baltzell* (1804–1866) | 1854 | 1859 | Inaugural | Direct election | |||
| 10 | Charles H. DuPont* (1805–1877) | 1854 | 1868 | Inaugural | Direct election | |||
| 11 | Bird M. Pearson* (1803–1859) | 1856 | 1859 | Inaugural | Direct election | Did not run for reelection | ||
| 12 | William A. Forward (1812–1865) | 1860 | 1865 | Inaugural | Direct election | Did not run for reelection | ||
| 13 | David S. Walker (1815–1891) | 1860 | 1865 | Inaugural | Direct election | Resigned | ||
| 14 | Augustus Maxwell* (1820–1903) | 1865 | 1866 | Inaugural | William Marvin | Resigned | ||
| 15 | James McNair Baker (1821–1892) | 1865 | 1868 | Inaugural | David S. Walker | |||
| 16 | Samuel J. Douglas (1812–1873) | 1866 | 1868 | Inaugural | David S. Walker | |||
| 17 | Ossian B. Hart (1821–1874) | 1868 | 1873 | Inaugural | Elected Governor of Florida | |||
| 18 | James Westcott III (1838–1887) | 1868 | January 7, 1885 | Inaugural | Harrison Reed | Resigned | ||
| 19 | Edwin M. Randall* (1822–1895) | January 1869 | January 7, 1885 | Inaugural | Harrison Reed | Resigned | ||
| 20 | Franklin D. Fraser (1819–1879) | January 16, 1873 | May 1874 | Hart | Ossian B. Hart | Resigned | ||
| 21 | Robert B. Van Valkenburgh (1821–1888) | May 20, 1874 | August 1, 1888 | Fraser | Died in office | |||
| 22 | George G. McWhorter (1833–1891) | January 13, 1885 | July 1, 1887 | Randall | Edward A. Perry | Resigned | ||
| 23 | George P. Raney (1845–1911) | January 13, 1885 | May 31, 1894 | Westcott | Edward A. Perry | Resigned | ||
| 14 | Augustus Maxwell* (1820–1903) | July 1, 1887 | 1890 | McWhorter | Did not run for re-election | |||
| 24 | Henry L. Mitchell (1831–1903) | August 7, 1888 | January 1, 1891 | Van Valkenburgh | Resigned | |||
| 25 | R. Fenwick Taylor* (1849–1928) | January 1, 1891 | February 28, 1925 | Mitchell | Francis P. Fleming | Retired | ||
| 26 | Milton H. Mabry (1851–1919) | January 1891 | 1903 | Maxwell | Direct election | Did not run for reelection | ||
| 27 | Benjamin S. Liddon (1853–1909) | June 1, 1894 | January 1897 | Raney | Resigned | |||
| 28 | Francis B. Carter (1861–1937) | January 11, 1897 | May 25, 1905 | Liddon | William D. Bloxham | Resigned | ||
| 29 | Thomas M. Shackleford (1859–1927) | December 1, 1902 | September 1, 1917 | Inaugural | William Sherman Jennings | Resigned | ||
| 30 | Robert S. Cockrell (1866–1957) | December 1, 1902 | January 2, 1917 | Inaugural | William Sherman Jennings | Defeated | ||
| 31 | Evelyn C. Maxwell (1863–1954) | December 1, 1902 | February 15, 1904 | Inaugural | William Sherman Jennings | Resigned | ||
| 32 | William A. Hocker (1844–1918) | January 6, 1903 | January 5, 1915 | Mabry | Did not run for reelection | |||
| 33 | James B. Whitfield (1860–1948) | February 15, 1904 | January 4, 1943 | Maxwell | William Sherman Jennings | Retired | ||
| 34 | Charles B. Parkhill (1859–1933) | May 25, 1905 | January 1912 | Carter | Resigned | |||
| 35 | W. H. Ellis (1867–1948) | January 5, 1915 | November 1, 1938 | Hocker | Direct election | Retired | ||
| 36 | Jefferson B. Browne* (1857–1937) | January 2, 1917 | May 20, 1925 | Cockrell | Direct election | Resigned | ||
| 37 | Thomas F. West (1874–1931) | September 1, 1917 | December 3, 1925 | Shackleford | Sidney Johnston Catts | Resigned | ||
| 38 | William Glenn Terrell* (1878–1964) | May 15, 1923 | January 12, 1964 | Parkhill | Died in office | |||
| 39 | Louie Willard Strum (1890–1954) | March 2, 1925 | March 5, 1931 | Taylor | Appointed to Federal District Court | |||
| 40 | Armstead Brown (1875–1951) | July 1, 1925 | December 1, 1946 | Browne | John W. Martin | Retired | ||
| 41 | Rivers H. Buford (1878–1959) | December 4, 1925 | April 3, 1948 | West | John W. Martin | Retired | ||
| 42 | Fred Henry Davis (1894–1937) | March 9, 1931 | June 20, 1937 | Strum | Doyle E. Carlton | Died in office | ||
| 43 | Roy H. Chapman (1883–1952) | June 23, 1937 | August 9, 1952 | Davis | Fred P. Cone | Died in office | ||
| 44 | Elwyn Thomas (1894–1971) | November 1, 1938 | January 7, 1969 | Ellis | Direct election | Retired | ||
| 45 | Alto L. Adams (1899–1988) | November 25, 1940 | October 22, 1951 | Inaugural | Fred P. Cone | Resigned | ||
| 46 | Harold Sebring* (1898–1968) | January 5, 1943 | September 15, 1955 | Whitfield | Direct election | Appointed Dean of Stetson College of Law | ||
| 47 | Paul D. Barns (1894–1973) | December 2, 1946 | September 1, 1949 | Brown | Direct election | Retired | ||
| 48 | T. Frank Hobson (1900–1966) | April 6, 1948 | February 13, 1962 | Buford | Millard F. Caldwell | Retired | ||
| 49 | B. K. Roberts* (1907–1999) | September 1, 1949 | December 1, 1976 | Barns | Fuller Warren | Retired | ||
| 50 | John E. Mathews (1892–1955) | October 23, 1951 | April 29, 1955 | Adams | Fuller Warren | Died in office | ||
| 51 | E. Harris Drew (1903–1978) | August 18, 1952 | January 5, 1971 | Chapman | Fuller Warren | Retired | ||
| 52 | B. Campbell Thornal (1908–1970) | May 9, 1955 | November 4, 1970 | Mathews | Died in office | |||
| 53 | Stephen C. O'Connell* (1916–2001) | October 21, 1955 | October 15, 1967 | Sebring | LeRoy Collins | Appointed president of the University of Florida | ||
| 54 | Millard Caldwell* (1897–1984) | February 14, 1962 | January 7, 1969 | Hobson | Mandatory retirement | |||
| 55 | Richard Ervin* (1905–2004) | January 17, 1964 | January 6, 1975 | Terrell | Retired | |||
| 45 | Alto L. Adams (1899–1988) | November 13, 1967 | August 1, 1968 | O'Connell | Claude R. Kirk Jr. | Resigned | ||
| 56 | Wade L. Hopping (1931–2009) | August 1, 1968 | January 7, 1969 | Adams | Claude R. Kirk Jr. | Defeated | ||
| 57 | Vassar B. Carlton* (1912–2005) | January 7, 1969 | February 28, 1974 | Hopping | Direct election | Retired | ||
| 58 | James C. Adkins* (1915–1994) | January 7, 1969 | January 6, 1987 | Caldwell | Direct election | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 59 | Joseph A. Boyd Jr.* (1916–2007) | January 7, 1969 | January 6, 1987 | Thomas | Direct election | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 60 | David L. McCain (1931–1986) | December 14, 1970 | August 31, 1975 | Thornal | Claude R. Kirk Jr. | Resigned before impeachment | ||
| 61 | Hal P. Dekle (1917–2005) | January 5, 1971 | April 30, 1975 | Drew | Direct election | Resigned before impeachment | ||
| 62 | Ben Overton* (1926–2012) | March 27, 1974 | January 4, 1999 | Carlton | Reubin Askew | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 63 | Arthur J. England Jr.* (1932–2013) | January 8, 1975 | August 9, 1981 | Ervin | Direct election | Resigned | ||
| 64 | Alan C. Sundberg* (1933–2002) | June 2, 1975 | September 15, 1982 | Dekle | Reubin Askew | Resigned | ||
| 65 | Joseph W. Hatchett (1932–2021) | September 2, 1975 | July 18, 1979 | McCain | Reubin Askew | Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | ||
| 66 | Frederick B. Karl (1924–2013) | January 4, 1977 | April 5, 1978 | Roberts | Direct election | Resigned | ||
| 67 | James E. Alderman* (1936–2021) | April 5, 1978 | August 31, 1985 | Karl | Resigned | |||
| 68 | Parker Lee McDonald* (1924–2017) | October 26, 1979 | May 31, 1994 | Hatchett | Retired | |||
| 69 | Raymond Ehrlich* (1918–2015) | December 3, 1981 | January 7, 1991 | England | Bob Martinez | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 70 | Leander J. Shaw Jr.* (1930–2015) | January 10, 1983 | January 6, 2003 | Sundberg | Mandatory retirement | |||
| 71 | Rosemary Barkett* (born 1939) | November 15, 1985 | April 21, 1994 | Alderman | Bob Martinez | Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | ||
| 72 | Stephen H. Grimes* (1927–2021) | January 30, 1987 | November 17, 1997 | Adkins | Bob Martinez | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 73 | Gerald Kogan* (1933–2021) | January 30, 1987 | December 31, 1998 | Boyd | Bob Martinez | Retired | ||
| 74 | Major B. Harding* (born 1935) | January 28, 1991 | August 31, 2002 | Ehrlich | Lawton Chiles | Retired | ||
| 75 | Harry Lee Anstead* (born 1937) | August 29, 1994 | January 5, 2009 | Barkett | Lawton Chiles | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 76 | Charles T. Wells* (born 1939) | June 9, 1994 | March 3, 2009 | McDonald | Lawton Chiles | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 77 | Barbara Pariente* (born 1948) | December 10, 1997 | January 8, 2019 | Grimes | Lawton Chiles | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 78 | R. Fred Lewis* (born 1947) | December 7, 1998 | January 8, 2019 | Kogan | Lawton Chiles | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 79 | Peggy Quince* (born 1948) | January 5, 1999 | January 8, 2019 | Overton | Lawton Chiles / Jeb Bush | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 80 | Raoul G. Cantero III (born 1960) | July 10, 2002 | September 6, 2008 | Harding | Jeb Bush | Returned to private practice | ||
| 81 | Kenneth B. Bell (born 1956) | January 7, 2003 | October 1, 2008 | Shaw | Jeb Bush | Returned to private practice | ||
| 82 | Charles Canady* (born 1954) | August 28, 2008 | December 31, 2025 | Cantero | Charlie Crist | Retired | ||
| 83 | Ricky Polston* (born 1955) | October 1, 2008 | March 31, 2023 | Bell | Charlie Crist | Resigned | ||
| 84 | Jorge Labarga* (born 1952) | January 2, 2009 | Anstead | Charlie Crist | ||||
| 85 | James E. C. Perry (born 1944) | March 11, 2009 | December 30, 2016 | Wells | Charlie Crist | Mandatory retirement | ||
| 86 | C. Alan Lawson (born 1961) | December 31, 2016 | August 31, 2022 | Perry | Rick Scott | Retired | ||
| 87 | Barbara Lagoa (born 1967) | January 9, 2019 | December 6, 2019 | Lewis | Ron DeSantis | Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | ||
| 88 | Robert J. Luck (born 1979) | January 14, 2019 | November 19, 2019 | Pariente | Ron DeSantis | Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | ||
| 89 | Carlos G. Muñiz* (born 1969) | January 22, 2019 | Quince | Ron DeSantis | ||||
| 90 | John D. Couriel (born 1978) | June 1, 2020 | Lagoa | Ron DeSantis | ||||
| 91 | Jamie Grosshans (born 1978/1979) | September 14, 2020 | Luck | Ron DeSantis | ||||
| 92 | Renatha Francis (born 1976/1977) | September 1, 2022 | Lawson | Ron DeSantis | ||||
| 93 | Meredith Sasso (born 1983) | May 25, 2023 | Polston | Ron DeSantis | ||||
| 94 | Adam Tanenbaum (born 1972) | January 14, 2026 | Canady | Ron DeSantis |
See also
Further reading
- Manley, Walter W.; Brown, Canter (1997). . University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2298-3. OCLC .
- Manley, Walter W.; Brown, Canter (2006). . University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-3782-4. OCLC .
- Dyckman, Martin A. (2008). . University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5925-9. OCLC .
- Skene, Neil (2017). . University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5448-3. OCLC .