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John Moore McCarty

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(1915-1995)

John Moore McCarty

John Moore McCarty was a charismatic leader at the University of Florida long before his days as a law student. As a UF undergraduate, McCarty was selected by the UF administration as one of ten outstanding freshman in 1934, served on the Executive Committee of Student Government in 1935, was inducted into Florida Blue Key in 1936, and served as secretary-treasurer of the student body in 1937. McCarty was also a three-time letterman, playing on the varsity football and basketball teams, and serving as manager of the baseball team. He also participated in Advanced Military Training (the precursor to current ROTC), achieving the rank of major in his senior year, as well as serving as president of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon.

After graduating from UF in 1937 with an Arts & Sciences degree, McCarty continued his tradition of leadership while attending UF’s law school, where he served as Homecoming chairman in 1939 and was elected student body president in 1941. A life long Episcopalian, McCarty served five years on the vestry of the Chapel of the Incarnation and was selected by the Bishop as student pastor in 1941. He also found time to serve as a member of the John Marshall Debating Society and the intra-mural athletic board, as well as to represent UF on the Executive Committee of the National Student Federation. McCarty graduated from law school in 1941 and immediately went into private practice with Liddon & Fee in his home town of Ft. Pierce, Florida, focusing on general civil practice.

His civil practice duties were cut short when he was called to active combat duty in the Army during World War II, where he served in the Pacific theater of operations, earning the Bronze Star while commanding the 292nd Joint Assault Company of the 77th Infantry Division, and taking part in the amphibious landings on Guam, the Phillipines, and Okinawa, as well as the original occupation of Japan.

Upon returning from the war in 1945, he established his own law practice and began to put his maturity and leadership skills to work to pave the way for a truly exceptional career.

In 1948 and 1952, he served as campaign manager and chief of staff to his brother, Florida Gov. Dan McCarty, which enabled him in 1953 to play a key role as part of a small group that lobbied for and implemented the legislation to establish the College of Medicine at UF.

In 1957, McCarty was appointed judge of the 9th Judicial District, and served as a circuit judge until his resignation in 1959, whereupon he mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Governor in 1960.

He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1962 and re-elected in 1966. McCarty also was a member of the influential 1968 Constitution Revision Commission, which allowed him to participate in the last major changes to Florida’s Constitution, which established the state’s modern-day judicial system.

McCarty served on the first Supreme Court Nominating Commission along with past Heritage of Leadership inductees Dixie Beggs (2003) and John Wigginton (2006). He also served on the American Bar Association House of Delegates, the Florida Bar Board of Governors, and as a director of the American Judicature Society. He was elected and served as president of the Florida Bar in 1971-1972.

McCarty’s contributions to the university he revered were even more evident when he served as chair of the UF College of Law’s first capital campaign in the early 80s, which led to the construction of Bruton-Geer Hall at the law school. He also was a founding member of the University of Florida Foundation and Law Center Association, receiving the Trustees’ Award in 1981, and served as a member of the UF President’s Council and Gator Boosters. He has been named to both the Florida Blue Key Hall of Fame and to UF’s Hall of Fame, and was designated a Distinguished Alumni in 1973.

In addition to his legal career, McCarty maintained business interests in citrus groves and cattle ranching in Ft. Pierce. His community involvement included serving on the Board of Directors for Florida Power and Light Company, the Port St. Lucie Bank, the Ft. Pierce Memorial Hospital and as a state director of the Orange Bowl. In addition, he was a Senior Warden and Sunday school superintendent at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, president of Rotary, and an active member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, all in Fort Pierce.

McCarty is survived by his daughter Margaret M. Monahan, her husband Michael O. Monahan, and their two children, Lillian L. Boudrias (UF JD anticipated Spring 2008) and Chester J. Boudrias; his son, Thomas C. McCarty (JD 82), his wife Anne W. McCarty, and their three children, John T. McCarty, Merrill E. McCarty and Anne M. McCarty; two granddaughters, Michelle M. Iverson and Lee Anne M. Hilsman, the daughters of son John M. McCarty, Jr, who passed away in 1995. McCarty was predeceased by his wife, Louise Fosgate McCarty, in 1979.

Published: June 27th, 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.