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Harold B. Crosby

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(1918-1996)

Harold B. Crosby

Soldier, lawyer, educator, judge, professor, dean, college president – Harold Crosby made his mark in many fields, excelling in them all. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the College of Law’s Florida Law Review, honored by his alma mater and the state for his contributions to education, professor and assistant dean at UFLaw, UF Dean of University Relations and Development, and president of two state universities – University of West Florida (Pensacola) for 10 years, and interim and permanent president of Florida International University (Miami) for five. His efforts on behalf of the state’s legal system – serving as consultant to the Florida Constitutional Advisory Commission in the mid-50s and as Commissioner for the Promotion of Uniform State Laws in the mid-60s – also were noteworthy.

Born 1918 in Jacksonville. He and his first wife, Margaret Dutton Crosby, had two children: Susan Crosby Cross and Anne Bryan Crosby Higgins. He is survived by his second wife, Constance Westbury.

College Education / Achievements

  • B.A. 1938, Northwestern University; J.D. 1948, University of Florida
  • Founding Editor-in-Chief, University of Florida Law Review, Phi Alpha Delta (President), Blue Key, University of Florida Hall of Fame, Phi Kappa Phi, Order of the Coif
  • Compiled verbatim class notes in law school, known as “Crosbys”
  • Distinguished Service Medal, University of Florida,1964
  • Designated Distinguished Alumnus, University of Florida,1972
  • Florida Association Colleges and Universities, Medal of Merit for Outstanding Contributions to Florida Education, 1975

Legal Experience

  • Practiced law, Kissimmee and Pensacola, 1949-55; Pensacola 1984-89
  • U.S. Army Air Corps, WWII Air Force Judge Advocate, 1951-53
  • Judge, First Judicial Circuit / North Florida, 1955-60
  • Professor, University of Florida College of Law, 1960-64
  • Assistant Dean, UF College of Law, 1960-62
  • Senior Circuit Judge (list for periodic recall) from 1989

Non-Legal Achievements

  • World War II, U.S. Army Air Corps, pilot
  • Dean, University of Florida Relations & Development, 1962-64
  • Founding President, University of West Florida, 1964-74
  • Interim President, Florida International University, 1975; President 1976-79
  • Regents Professor of Law, Florida State University, 1979-83

Associations / Organizations / Honors

  • Consultant, Florida Constitutional Advisory Commission, 1954-55
  • Trustee, University of Florida Law Center Association, 1961-65
  • Board of Directors, University of Florida Foundation, 1962-64
  • Florida Commissioner for the Promotion of Uniform State Laws, 1962-64
  • Chairman, American Association of Upper Level Colleges and Universities, 1970-72
  • Chairman, Florida Endowment for the Humanities, 1974-76

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.