Justice David Lucius McCain
Former Justice David McCain achieved Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts, one of his many achievements. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1955, then served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force for two years. McCain settled into a law practice in Fort Pierce, handling both civil and criminal cases.
In 1962, he ventured into the political arena, running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, but lost. He switched party affiliations in 1966 and supported the successful candidacy of Claude Kirk for governor.
McCain was soon appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. He ran for the Florida Supreme Court in 1968, but lost. Then, after the death in office of Justice Campbell Thornal, in December 1970, Governor Kirk, just before he left office, appointed McCain to the Florida Supreme Court at the age of 39.
Justice McCain began to appear in statewide news reports for unreported campaign contributions from attorneys who had appeared before him at the district court. He began drinking heavily at this time, divorced, and remarried.
By 1974, other allegations had surfaced regarding favoring certain attorneys in his rulings and giving preferential treatment to people who had donated money to his election campaigns. He was also accused of improperly interfering with judicial processes.
When the Florida Legislature began impeachment proceedings against him in 1975, he resigned from the court. By 1978, McCain was disbarred from the practice of law and had been arrested for drunken driving and other offenses. He became involved in drug smuggling and went into hiding for the last years of his life.
Justice McCain served as Justice for four (4) years and eight (8) months from December 14, 1970 to August 31, 1975. He was born in Sebastian, Florida, July 23, 1931, and died on November 11, 1986, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Former Justices
- Justice Robert J. Luck
- Justice Barbara Lagoa
- Justice Alan Lawson
- Justice James E.C. Perry
- Justice Ricky Polston
- Justice Kenneth B. Bell
- Justice Raoul G. Cantero
- Justice Peggy A. Quince
- Justice R. Fred Lewis
- Justice Barbara J. Pariente
- Justice Harry Lee Anstead
- Justice Charles Talley Wells
- Justice Major B. Harding
- Justice Gerald Kogan
- Justice Stephen H. Grimes
- Justice Rosemary Barkett
- Justice Leander J. Shaw, Jr.
- Justice Raymond Ehrlich
- Justice Parker Lee McDonald
- Justice James E. Alderman
- Justice Frederick Brennan Karl
- Justice Joseph Woodrow Hatchett
- Justice Alan C. Sundberg
- Justice Arthur J. England, Jr.
- Justice Ben. F. Overton
- Justice Hal P. Dekle
- Justice David Lucius McCain
- Justice Joseph Arthur Boyd, Jr.
- Justice James Calhoun Adkins, Jr.
- Justice Vassar Benjamin Carlton
- Justice Wade Lee Hopping
- Justice Richard William Ervin
- Justice Millard Fillmore Caldwell
- Justice Stephen C. O'Connell
- Justice Benjamin Campbell Thornal
- Justice Edward Harris Drew
- Justice John Elie Mathews
- Justice Bonnie Kaslo Roberts
- Justice Tolbert Frank Hobson
- Justice Paul Dryden Barns
- Justice Harold Leon "Tom" Sebring
- Justice Alto Lee Adams
- Justice Elwyn Thomas
- Justice Roy Harrison Chapman
- Justice Fred Henry Davis
- Justice Rivers Henderson Buford
- Justice Louie Willard Strum
- Justice Armstead Brown
- Justice William Glenn Terrell
- Justice Thomas Franklin West
- Justice Jefferson Beale Browne
- Justice William Hull Ellis
- Justice Charles Breckenridge Parkhill
- Justice James Bryan Whitfield
- Justice William Adams Hocker
- Justice Evelyn Croom Maxwell
- Justice Robert Spratt Cockrell
- Justice Thomas M. Shackleford
- Justice Francis Beauregard Carter
- Justice Benjamin Sullivan Liddon
- Justice Milton Harvey Mabry
- Justice Robert Fenwick Taylor
- Justice Henry Laurens Mitchell
- Justice Geoge Pettus Raney
- Justice George Gray Mcwhorter
- Justice Robert Bruce Van Valkenburgh
- Justice Franklin D. Fraser
- Justice James Diament Westcott, Jr.
- Justice Ossian Bingley Hart
- Justice Edwin M. Randall
- Justice Samuel James Douglas
- Justice James Mcnair Baker
- Justice Augustus Emmet Maxwell
- Justice David Shelby Walker
- Justice William Augustus Forward
- Justice Bird Murphy Pearson
- Justice Charles H. Dupont
- Justice Benjamin D. Wright
- Justice Albert Gallatin Semmes
- Justice Leslie Atchinson Thompson
- Justice Walker Anderson
- Justice Joseph Bradford Lancaster
- Justice George W. Macrae
- Justice George Sydney Hawkins
- Justice Thomas Baltzell
- Justice Thomas Douglas
Contact Information
Florida Supreme Court
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida
32399-1925 | EMAIL
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