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E. Dixie Beggs Jr.

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(1908-2001)

beggs
Known for his keen interest in state and national legal reform, Beggs was a strong leader in his community. He was instrumental in early initiatives of the Florida Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Beggs sponsored and drafted acts that authorized continuous revision of Florida statutes by the state’s Attorney General. Perhaps his most important contribution to citizens and governmental officials of Florida was his effort starting in 1939 to codify the state laws. Prior to that, the Legislature passed accumulated and amended laws without any attempt to harmonize them as Statutes in Force throughout the state. Beggs efforts led to the annual codification of laws now known as the Florida Statutes – an essential and important tool in today’s society.

Born 1908 in Pensacola. Married Sara Strickland, who died in childbirth. He and his second wife, Margaret Ridley, had two children – Caroline Beggs Newell and E. Dixie Beggs III – before she died of cancer. His third wife, Leonora Risher, brought two children to the marriage – Carol Brouha and Ann Phillips. He is survived by Leonora and all four of the children.

College Education / Achievements

  • B.A., J.D. University of Florida, 1931 (after initial study at University of North Carolina)
  • President, 1930-31, Student Body, as undergraduate.
  • Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Delta Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, Omega Delta Kappa, Blue Key
  • Winner, 1928, Albert W. Gilchrist Scholarship
  • Designated Distinguished Alumnus, University of Florida, 1963

Legal Experience

  • Practiced law with father (Beggs & Beggs) 1931-37; then with Yonge Beggs & Carter (now Beggs & Lane, Pensacola), 1937-76
  • He and father had rare distinction of both being licensed and practicing separate cases before U.S. Supreme Court.
  • State Attorney, 1933-41 (covering same territory Beggs Sr. covered as Circuit Court Judge).
  • Began movement, 1939, to codify state laws of Florida
  • Initiated revisions, review of Florida judicial procedures
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit (now 11th Circuit) Advisory Committee
  • American Bar Standards of Judicial Conduct Committee, 1969-73

Non-Legal Achievements

  • Served in World War II, including coordination of Allied battle plans in Italy. Attained rank of Lieutenant Colonel. For exceptional courage and meritorious service, awarded Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, French Croix de Guerre, Czechoslovakian Medal for Merit, Crown of Italy Merit, Order of the British Empire

Associations / Organizations / Honors

  • President, Florida Bar, 1947-48
  • Board of Governors, American Bar Association, 1958-61. One of first two ABA delegates to newly formed International Bar Association.
  • Director, First Bank and Trust Co., 1933-69
  • Director, Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. (27 years); Barnett Bank of West Florida (60 years)
  • Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Founding organizer, first Vice President, second President, Pensacola Baptist Hospital. Office facility named in his honor.
  • First Chairman, Florida Supreme Court Nominating Committee, 1972-76
  • Charter Member, Florida Judicial Council, 1953-59
  • Lifetime member, Deacon Emeritus (third generation), First Baptist Church of Pensacola.

Published: June 26th, 2014

Category: Alumni

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The Florida Constitutional Law Endowment in memory of Justice Ben F. Overton was created by Judge Karen Miller in 2013. This fund supports lectures and presentations by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

HISTORY

Justice Overton, who earned his B.S. in 1951 and his Juris Doctor in 1952 from the University of Florida, was the first merit appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Throughout his career he was active in legal education and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Levin College of Law through December 2012, the month of his death. Although he resided at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a continuing care retirement community developed in cooperation with UF, he also considered the Florida Supreme Court “home.” Among the high points of his later years was hosting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court in Gainesville and taking his class to Tallahassee to hear oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Miller, who earned her B.S. cum laude from New York University in 1974 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1977, served as Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City’s business regulatory agency, before she retired to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida. Having accompanied Justice Overton on his excursions to Tallahassee and joined him in welcoming guests to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, she created the endowment in memory of Justice Overton to ensure that the Levin College of Law continues to have the funding necessary to continue and enhance the interaction between its students and the Florida Supreme Court.

 

Judge Miller remembered the event that motivated the endowment.

 

Prior to a dinner at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and Lisa Jerry shortly after Justice Overton’s death, Justice Barbara Pariente and I were discussing a suitable memorial. Justice Pariente, who had been Justice Overton’s colleague on the Florida Supreme Court and who understood the importance to him of the interaction between his students and the Court, suggested the outline of what has become the Overton lectures. Dean Jerry, who has since retired, as has Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Overton lectures, were very supportive from the beginning. Since Dean Mills’ retirement, Professor Timothy McClendon, who assisted both Justice Overton and Dean Mills teaching Florida Constitutional Law and who co-authored the recent Florida Constitutional Law casebook, has continued the Overton lectures with the support of Interim Dean Merritt McAlister and CGR director, Professor Danaya Wright.

Justice Overton was a devoted jurist, educator, and ethical leader of the Florida legal profession. The Overton Lecture Series brings Florida Supreme Court Justices to the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and serves to introduce students to the inner workings of the Court. CGR and the students of the College of Law extend our deepest gratitude to Judge Karen Miller for making the Overton Lectures possible in perpetuity.

You can watch an interview for the Florida Historical Society by Mary Adkins, professor emeritus of the UF Levin College of Law, with Justice Overton here.

Justice Overton was also interviewed for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project and a transcript of his interview is available at the Smathers Library, and here.
Justice Overton sat on the Constitution Revision Commission of 1977-78 that proposed a right to privacy in the Florida Constitution. Although it failed as part of the Constitution Revision Commission recommendations, it passed in 1980 when proposed by the legislature. The bill was co-sponsored by our very own Jon Mills. The privacy provision prevailed by greater than 60%. Justice Overton then wrote a concurrence in a critical reproductive rights case in 1989 affirming that the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution included the right to obtain an abortion. That decision was overruled in Planned Parenthood of SW and Central Florida v. Florida. You can read about the role of Justice Overton, Jon Mills – director emeritus of CGR, and the history of the 1989 case here.