Justice James Mcnair Baker
Former Justice James Baker was the 15th Justice on the Supreme Court and served from 1865-1868. He graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1844 and then read law. He moved to Florida for his health in 1846 and was admitted to the bar at Madison.
By 1850, Baker had moved to Alligator, Florida, where he developed a thriving law practice and a large plantation. He was a member of the Whig Party, but saw his political opportunities collapse when the party disintegrated in 1852.
In 1856, the state legislature named a newly formed county after him, and three years later he helped rename his hometown “Lake City.” When Florida seceded from the Union in 1861, Baker was not in favor of the move, but he supported his adopted state and later that year Florida voters elected him to the Confederate Senate in Richmond. He was reelected in 1863. At first he fully supported the policies of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but by 1864, he developed strong opposition to the high taxes and conscription of skilled workers that imposed hardships on the states.
After the war, Florida Governor David Walker appointed Baker to the state supreme court. In 1868 a new constitution went into effect and Baker, as well as the two other justices, was not returned to office. He felt bitter toward the reconstruction policies of the U.S. Congress and worked to advance the cause of the Democratic Party. Baker pursued his legal career and developed a stronger interest in his Presbyterian church.
Governor William Bloxham appointed Baker judge of the fourth judicial circuit in 1881, where he remained until ill health forced his retirement in 1890. He died two years later.
Justice Baker was born in Robeson County, North Carolina on July 20, 1821, and died on June 20, 1892 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Former Justices
- Justice Robert J. Luck
- Justice Barbara Lagoa
- Justice Alan Lawson
- Justice James E.C. Perry
- Justice Ricky Polston
- Justice Kenneth B. Bell
- Justice Raoul G. Cantero
- Justice Peggy A. Quince
- Justice R. Fred Lewis
- Justice Barbara J. Pariente
- Justice Harry Lee Anstead
- Justice Charles Talley Wells
- Justice Major B. Harding
- Justice Gerald Kogan
- Justice Stephen H. Grimes
- Justice Rosemary Barkett
- Justice Leander J. Shaw, Jr.
- Justice Raymond Ehrlich
- Justice Parker Lee McDonald
- Justice James E. Alderman
- Justice Frederick Brennan Karl
- Justice Joseph Woodrow Hatchett
- Justice Alan C. Sundberg
- Justice Arthur J. England, Jr.
- Justice Ben. F. Overton
- Justice Hal P. Dekle
- Justice David Lucius McCain
- Justice Joseph Arthur Boyd, Jr.
- Justice James Calhoun Adkins, Jr.
- Justice Vassar Benjamin Carlton
- Justice Wade Lee Hopping
- Justice Richard William Ervin
- Justice Millard Fillmore Caldwell
- Justice Stephen C. O'Connell
- Justice Benjamin Campbell Thornal
- Justice Edward Harris Drew
- Justice John Elie Mathews
- Justice Bonnie Kaslo Roberts
- Justice Tolbert Frank Hobson
- Justice Paul Dryden Barns
- Justice Harold Leon "Tom" Sebring
- Justice Alto Lee Adams
- Justice Elwyn Thomas
- Justice Roy Harrison Chapman
- Justice Fred Henry Davis
- Justice Rivers Henderson Buford
- Justice Louie Willard Strum
- Justice Armstead Brown
- Justice William Glenn Terrell
- Justice Thomas Franklin West
- Justice Jefferson Beale Browne
- Justice William Hull Ellis
- Justice Charles Breckenridge Parkhill
- Justice James Bryan Whitfield
- Justice William Adams Hocker
- Justice Evelyn Croom Maxwell
- Justice Robert Spratt Cockrell
- Justice Thomas M. Shackleford
- Justice Francis Beauregard Carter
- Justice Benjamin Sullivan Liddon
- Justice Milton Harvey Mabry
- Justice Robert Fenwick Taylor
- Justice Henry Laurens Mitchell
- Justice Geoge Pettus Raney
- Justice George Gray Mcwhorter
- Justice Robert Bruce Van Valkenburgh
- Justice Franklin D. Fraser
- Justice James Diament Westcott, Jr.
- Justice Ossian Bingley Hart
- Justice Edwin M. Randall
- Justice Samuel James Douglas
- Justice James Mcnair Baker
- Justice Augustus Emmet Maxwell
- Justice David Shelby Walker
- Justice William Augustus Forward
- Justice Bird Murphy Pearson
- Justice Charles H. Dupont
- Justice Benjamin D. Wright
- Justice Albert Gallatin Semmes
- Justice Leslie Atchinson Thompson
- Justice Walker Anderson
- Justice Joseph Bradford Lancaster
- Justice George W. Macrae
- Justice George Sydney Hawkins
- Justice Thomas Baltzell
- Justice Thomas Douglas
Contact Information
Florida Supreme Court
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida
32399-1925 | EMAIL
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