James Bryan Whitfield (November 8, 1860 – August 20, 1948) was an American attorney and politician who served as a long-time Justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

Early life and education

Whitfield was born on November 8, 1860 on his father's

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Wayne County, North Carolina Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,333. Its county seat is Goldsboro and it is home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Wayne County comprises the Goldsboro, NC ...

. He was a member of the

Whitfield family The Whitfield family was a landowning Norman family in present-day United Kingdom; the family was seated at Whitfield Hall in Northumberland. The area was granted by William, King of Scotland in the twelfth century. The family derives its name ...

, a prominent planter family in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. In 1863, Whitfield and his father moved to their plantation in

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state cap ...

. Whitfield later moved to the nearby city of

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, where he studied law at the

West Florida Seminary The history of Florida State University dates to the 19th century and is deeply intertwined with the history of education in Florida, education in the state of Florida and in the city of Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee. Florida State University, ...

, later attending the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

receiving his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1886. He was admitted into the

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated bar association for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States. Its duties include the regulation and discipline of attorneys. The Florida Bar is also responsible for the governi ...

later that year.

Political career

In 1888, Whitfield, a bank teller at the time, became the personal secretary of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Governor

Edward A. Perry Edward Aylesworth Perry (March 15, 1831October 15, 1889) was a general under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War and the 14th Governor of Florida. Early life He was a descendant of Arthur Perry, one of the earliest settlers of New Engl ...

. The following year, he was appointed Clerk of the

. Whitfield, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, served in this position until June 19, 1897, when he was appointed Florida State Treasurer, succeeding Clarence B. Collins, who had resigned following his

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

for mismanaging state funds. Whitfield served as State Treasurer until March 1903, when he was appointed

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

following the election of the incumbent,

William Bailey Lamar William Bailey Lamar (June 12, 1853 – September 26, 1928) was an American attorney and politician who served as a U.S. representative from Florida from 1903 to 1909. Early life and education Lamar was born on June 12, 1853 in Monticello, F ...

, to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Florida Supreme Court

In February 1904, Whitfield was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor

William Sherman Jennings William Sherman Jennings (March 24, 1863February 27, 1920) was an American politician. He served as the 18th Governor of Florida after being a lawyer, county judge, and state representative. Early years and education He was born near Walnut Hill ...

. Whitfield served on the court until his retirement on January 4, 1943, making him the second-longest serving Florida Supreme Court justice, only behind

William Glenn Terrell William Glenn Terrell (July 24, 1878 – January 12, 1964) was a state legislator and justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 1923 to 1964. During the time of his tenure on the Florida Supreme Court, he served as Associate Justice and as chief ...

. Additionally, Whitfield was elected Chief Justice by the court three times, serving in that role from January 1905 until June 1905, 1909 until 1913, and 1935 until 1937. Whitfield's tenure on the court was marked by a period of great uncertainty regarding the rights of

African Americans in Florida African Americans in Florida or Black Floridians are residents of the state of Florida who are of African ancestry. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, African Americans were 16.6% of the state's population. The African-American presence in the peni ...

. Whitfield himself did not have an opinion on the topic as a whole, rather regarding it on a case-by-case basis, often leading to conflicting opinions. For example, Whitfield wrote the majority opinion for ''Montgomery v. State'' (1908), in which he wrote that it is unlawful to exclude black jurors from trials. On the other hand, however, he reaffirmed

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in '' Florida East Coast Ry. Co. v. Geiger'' (1913), which upheld

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protecti ...

, and ''Parramore v. State'' (1921), which upheld a ban on mixed-race marriages. Whitfield retired from the court on January 4, 1943, due to declining health.

Personal life

Whitfield married Leila Nash on November 25, 1886. Nash died from complications following the birth of their first child, John Nash, in 1897. Whitfield later married Margaret Hayward Randolph on June 12, 1901. They had five children together, Mary Croom, James Bryan Jr., Julia, Margaret, and Randolph.

Death and legacy

Whitfield died on August 20, 1948 at his home in Tallahassee, Florida. He is buried in Tallahassee's Saint Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery. In 1945, Whitfield received an honorary

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

s degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. The University of Florida also has a scholarship in his memory, the Judge James Bryan Whitfield Constitutional Law Scholarship.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, James B. People from Wayne County, North Carolina Justices of the Florida Supreme Court State Treasurers of Florida Florida Attorneys General 1860 births 1948 deaths Whitfield family People from Tallahassee, Florida Florida State University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Florida Democrats