Richard William Ervin Jr. (born Richard Reehorse Ervin, January 26, 1905 – August 24, 2004) was the Florida Attorney General from 1949 to 1964 and served as chief 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 ...

from 1969 to 1971. He is credited with guiding the state from segregation (based on the brief he wrote to the United States Supreme Court's request from each state's Attorney General on how to rule regarding '' Brown v. Board of Education''), and desegregating its schools. His son, Richard W. Ervin III, was a judge of the First District Court of Appeal for 30 years and retired at the end of 2006. Ervin was a graduate of the University of Florida where he was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and earned his law degree at the University of Florida College of Law in 1928. Following his retirement, he was of counsel to the law firm founded by his brother Robert Ervin, in Tallahassee. He received an honorary degree from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. From 1954 to 1975, Ervin was a national director of the fraternal organization Woodmen of the World.

References

1905 births 2004 deaths People from Carrabelle, Florida University of Florida alumni Florida Attorneys General Justices of the Florida Supreme Court Florida lawyers Florida Democrats 20th-century American judges Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers {{Florida-state-judge-stub