The Supreme Court of Florida: A Journey toward Justice, 1972-1987

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This third volume in the history of the Florida Supreme Court describes the court during its most tumultuous years. Amid the upheaval of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate, the story begins with reform in the entire Florida court system. It includes the court’s first black justice, Joseph Hatchett; Governor Reubin Askew’s new system for merit selection of justices; and revision of Article V, the section of the state constitution dealing with the judiciary.

Neil Skene moves on to cover landmark court decisions; the introduction of cameras in court; changes to media law, personal injury law, and family and divorce law; privacy rights; gay rights; death penalty cases; and the appointment of the first woman justice, Rosemary Barkett. This book is an absorbing portrayal of a judicial institution adapting to a time of deep political and social change.