Floyd S. Draper (October 17, 1893 – March 20, 1980) was a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

from January 2, 1951 to January 10, 1955. Born in Fulton, New York, Draper graduated from high school in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...

,"Draper Named Criminal Judge", (December 30, 1959), p. A-1. and received his law degree from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1915.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 200 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
Draper became chief deputy prosecutor for Lake County, Indiana in 1923. He became city attorney of

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

in 1939, and in 1942 was elected to a seat on the Indiana Court of Appeals. He was re-elected in 1946, serving for eight years in total before his election to the Indiana Supreme Court."Retired State Justice Floyd S. Draper, 86, Dies", ''

The Star Press ''The Star Press'' is a morning edition newspaper for Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the county seat, seat of Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the l ...

'' (March 22, 1980), p. A-5. Draper was elected to the Indiana Supreme Court in 1950, taking office on January 2, 1951.

Richard M. Givan Richard M. Givan (1921–2009) served as the 96th Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 6, 1969, until his retirement December 31, 1994. He served as chief justice from 1974 until March 1987. Early life Givan was born June 7, 1921, ...

, later Chief Justice of the court, was a law clerk for Draper. Givan remembered Draper as being "on the conservative side" among the judges, particularly in taking "a harder line with criminals". Draper resigned from the court on January 10, 1955, a year before the expiration of his term, because of the poor health of his brother, Alfred P. Draper, also an attorney. In July 1955, Alfred died in a fall from a sixth-floor window in Gary, Indiana.Noted Gary Lawyer is Killed in Fall
, ''Pharos Tribune'' (July 28, 1955), p. 1. Draper retired from legal practice in 1958, moving to Florida in his retirement. In 1959, Draper returned to Indiana for one year to serve as the presiding judge of the Lake County Criminal Court, appointed to that position by Governor

Harold W. Handley Harold Willis Handley (November 27, 1909 – August 30, 1972) was the 40th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1957 to 1961. A veteran of World War II, and furniture salesman by trade, Handley began his political career as a state senator ...

following the death of judge William J. Murray. Draper died in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Floyd Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court 1893 births 1980 deaths Valparaiso University School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges