Shelby Highsmith (January 31, 1929 – December 2, 2015) was an American
lawyer and a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
.
Education and career
Highsmith was born on January 31, 1929, in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. He graduated from
Georgia Military College
Georgia Military College (GMC) is a public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was originally known as M ...
with an
Associate of Arts degree in 1949. He served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
from 1949 to 1955. Highsmith graduated from the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in 1958 and from the
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law
The University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza.
It was founded in 1895 as the Kansas Cit ...
with a
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 Ch ...
in 1958. Highsmith was in private practice in
Kansas City, Missouri, from 1958 to 1959, before relocating to
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 ...
and entering private practice in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
from 1959 to 1970. Highsmith served as chief legal advisor to the Governor's War on Crime Program from 1967 to 1968 and special counsel for the Florida Racing Commission from 1969 to 1970. Highsmith was a member of the Law Enforcement Planning Counsel of Florida from 1969 to 1970 and served as a circuit judge for the
11th Judicial Circuit (
Dade County) from 1970 to 1975. Highsmith resumed private practice in Miami in 1975.
Federal judicial service
On June 27, 1991,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
George H. W. Bush nominated Highsmith to the
, to the seat vacated by Judge
Thomas E. Scott.
Confirmed
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
by the
Senate on September 12, 1991, he received his
commission on September 16, 1991. Highsmith assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on March 15, 2002, but stopped hearing cases in 2008. He died on December 2, 2015, at his family's home in
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fai ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, from the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highsmith, Shelby
1929 births
2015 deaths
People from Jacksonville, Florida
University of Kansas alumni
University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni
Missouri lawyers
Florida state court judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
20th-century American judges
Neurological disease deaths in Virginia
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
People from Fort Belvoir, Virginia