Justice Roy Harrison Chapman
Former Justice Roy Chapman was the 43rd Justice on the Supreme Court. He served from 1937-1952. Like many other justices in this era, he came to the court through a long and successful career in politics and with personal connections to many of the highest ranking people in Florida politics and government. Though he was born in Georgia, Chapman’s family had moved out of the path of Civil War General Sherman’s “March through Georgia,” to Florida.
Chapman attended East Florida Seminary and then the University of Florida. When he decided to pursue the law as a career, he transferred to Stetson University, graduating in 1908. After passing the bar that year, he moved to Lake City, Florida, and became the law partner of Fred Cone. Both were active in Democratic Party politics. His legal skill earned him an appointment to the newly created board of law examiners in 1925. That, in turn, led him to pursue higher standards of professionalism in bar admissions and the legal profession.
In 1937, newly-elected Governor Fred Cone appointed his law partner to the Florida Supreme Court position that opened when Justice Fred Davis suddenly died. There was a great deal of criticism of the appointment.
Justice Chapman worked hard on his judicial opinions and on the administration of the judicial branch when he was the chief justice, which reduced the accusations of cronyism.
While chief justice, Chapman oversaw the funding and start of construction on the present Supreme Court Building. He served until his death in 1952.
Quick facts about Justice Chapman:
Roy Harrison Chapman (Columbia) [served 15 years, 2 months]
Served June 23, 1937 – August 9, 1952 as Justice
Served January 9, 1945 – January 1947 as Chief Justice [appointed at age 53]
b. Blairsville, Georgia, July 15, 1883 d. August 9, 1952, Tallahassee, Florida
County Judge: No. Circuit Judge: No.
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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