Leslie Atchinson Thompson (October 8, 1806 – January 23, 1874) was a lawyer, author of works on legal subjects, politician, and judge. He was city clerk, treasurer, and

mayor of Tallahassee The Mayor of Tallahassee is head of the executive branch of the government of Tallahassee, Florida. For part of the city's history the office of mayor was a rotating position chosen among city commissioners. Tallahassee switched to the direct e ...

. He also served as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of Florida 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 ...

from 1851 to 1853.

Early life and education

Born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

,Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder,
A History of the Florida Supreme Court
, ''University of Miami Law Review'' (1981), p. 1025. " e Thompson family moved to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, not long after Leslie was born".Florida Supreme Court Justices, Early Justices: 1846-1917
''Florida Supreme Court Historical Society''. Thompson went to college in Savannah, and studied law in the office of a local judge to be admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1826. He moved to

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 ...

the following year.

Career and writing

Thompson opened a law practice in Tallahassee, which flourished. Thompson then "began to participate in the politics of the state capital", serving as city clerk, treasurer and mayor. In 1838, Thompson was selected to represent

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 ...

at the state's Constitutional Convention, held in St. Joseph, Florida from 1838 to 1839. Thompson was "a prolific writer" who "authored several classic treatises on Florida law". Following Florida's ascension to statehood in 1845, the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

appointed Thompson to compile a digest of the general and public laws of the state and territory, which sold 1,500 copies, and which placed Thompson "in the forefront of the legal profession", and "was a much-cited reference source for many years". Other writings by Thompson included "a compilation of the British statutes that were incorporated as part of Florida's laws", and the rules of practice for Florida's circuit courts.

Judicial service

In January, 1851 the Florida legislature created a new three-member supreme court, with a chief justice and two associate justices to be elected by the legislature. Thompson was elected to a two-year term as an associate justice, along with

Walker Anderson Walker Anderson (July 18, 1801 – January 18, 1857) was a Florida lawyer and Democratic politician who served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1851 to 1853. He was born in Petersburg, Virginia, on July 18, 1801. He studied law at Raleigh, No ...

as chief justice A. G. Semmes as the other associate justice. Anderson, Semmes, and Thompson "were important in establishing the

as an independent judicial body". In 1853, Thompson opted to run for a full term as chief justice, but was defeated in the popular election by

Thomas Baltzell Thomas Baltzell (July 11, 1804 – January 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who was the first popularly elected chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Baltzell was also a Florida Territory Senator and a Florida State Representati ...

Later life and death

Following his electoral defeat, Thompson moved to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, where he served as Mayor of Galveston and as a member of the Texas Legislature. He remained in the Legislature until his death in 1874, in Galveston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Leslie A. Justices of the Florida Supreme Court American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina Florida lawyers 1806 births 1874 deaths Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida Mayors of Galveston, Texas Members of the Texas Legislature 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers