E. Harris Drew

Edward 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. Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).
  2. The Florida Handbook (1970), Vol. 12, p. 161.
  3. Florida Municipal Record (1952), Vol. 25-26, p. 2.
  4. Panama City News-Herald (August 12, 1952), p. 2
  5. Florida State University Law Review (1978), Vol. 6, p. ii.
  6. 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
Roy H. Chapman		 Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
1952–1971		 Succeeded by
Hal P. Dekle
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