Robert S. Cockrell

Robert Spratt Cockrell (January 22, 1866 – June 23, 1957) was a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from December 1, 1902, to January 2, 1917.[1]

Painted portrait of Florida Supreme Court Justice Robert S. Cockrell (circa 1900)

Cockrell's appointment was inadvertent. Governor William Sherman Jennings had meant to appoint Robert's brother Alston Cockrell.[2]

Cockrell served on the court until he was defeated in his third reelection campaign by Jefferson B. Browne in 1916.[1] He allegedly lost the election because an opinion he wrote that alienated railroad interests which then lobbied for Browne.[3] He lectured at the University of Florida College of Law from 1919 until 1940, and his students included Harold Sebring and Richard Ervin.[1]

He was on the losing side of a 3-2 decision on referendums that was passed by both the House and Senate in Florida but not signed.[4]

Cockrell was born in Livingston, Alabama[5][1] He obtained his bachelor's degree, masters and law degrees from the University of Virginia, then going on to study for a year at Humboldt University in Berlin.[1] He then passed the bar two years later in 1891.[1]

He wife Cortney the daughter of a Florida governor had died before him, they had two daughters and one son.[6]

He died in Miami, Florida at the age of 91.[6] He had been living in Coconut Grove with one of his daughters at this time.[6]

References

  1. "Justice Robert Spratt Cockrell". Supreme Court. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. "University of Miami Law School - A History of the Florida Supreme Court" (PDF). core.ac.uk. 1981. p. 1045. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder, "A History of the Florida Supreme Court", University of Miami Law Review (1981), p. 1045.
  4. Kerber, Stephen (1994). "The Initiative and Referendum in Florida, 1911-1912". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 72 (3): 302–315. JSTOR 30084857.
  5. Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).
  6. "24 Jun 1957, 29 - The Miami News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.


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