Justice Rosemary Barkett
Former Justice Rosemary Barkett was the 71st Justice of the Court and served from 1985-1994. She was the first woman to serve and the first female Chief Justice.
Her career was a remarkable one. She was born in Mexico to Syrian parents immigrating to the United States, and her first language was Spanish. Early in life in the United States, Barkett joined a convent where she remained for many years. Later, the Convent's authorities released Barkett from her vows, and Barkett then attended the University of Florida College of Law, where she was an honors student.
Barkett was appointed to the circuit court in 1979, then to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in 1984. Governor Bob Graham appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1985. In 1994, she resigned when President Bill Clinton named her to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
The fact that Barkett was the Supreme Court's first woman created some unusual problems. For one thing, the Justices' chambers collectively had only two restrooms: one marked "Justices" and the other for women. With Barkett's appointment, this situation obviously came to an end.
Another problem was Barkett's official title. In the past, Justices always had been called "Mr. Justice _____." Barkett, however, did not like the title "Madam Justice Barkett": She said that she was not married and did not qualify for the other definition of "Madam." As a result, Barkett announced that she would be called simply "Justice Barkett." The other Justices of the Court quickly followed suit by dropping the "Mr." from their titles.
The artist who painted Justice Barkett's portrait is Marlene Evans Putnam -- who also painted the official portrait of astronaut/schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
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
Talking with Justices and Staff