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{{Short description|American judge}}
{{info|'''This draft is part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/United States state supreme court justices]].'''
{{About|the Florida judge||Thomas West (disambiguation){{!}}Thomas West}}
:You can help by:
{{Infobox officeholder
:* Adding missing information about the subject.
| name = Thomas F. West
:* Adding reliable sources to verify information about the subject.
| image = ThomasFranklinWest.jpg
:* Checking grammar, spelling, and formatting in the article.
| office = Judge of the [[First Judicial Circuit Court of Florida]]
:* Finding a freely available image of the subject and uploading it for use here.
| appointer = [[John W. Martin]]
:* Moving the draft to article space when completed, and adding appropriate categories and talk page WikiProject tags.
| term_start = December 3, 1925
:* Checking appropriate disambiguation pages and related articles to create incoming links.
| term_end = February 23, 1931
| office1 = Chief Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Florida]]
| term_start1 = February 28, 1923
| term_end1 = December 3, 1925
| predecessor1 = [[R. Fenwick Taylor]]
| successor1 = [[Armstead Brown]]
| office2 = Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Florida]]
| appointer2 = [[Sidney Johnston Catts]]
| term_start2 = September 1, 1917
| term_end2 = December 3, 1925
| predecessor2 = [[Thomas M. Shackleford]]
| successor2 = [[Rivers H. Buford]]
| office3 = President of the [[Florida Bar]]
| term_start3 = 1915
| term_end3 = 1916
| predecessor3 = [[W. H. Price]]
| successor3 = [[Nathan Philemon Bryan]]
| office4 = 20th [[Florida Attorney General]]
| governor4 = [[Park Trammell]]<br/>[[Sidney Johnston Catts]]
| term_start4 = January 7, 1913
| term_end4 = September 1, 1917
| predecessor4 = [[Park Trammell]]
| successor4 = [[Van C. Swearingen]]
| state_senate5 = Florida
| district5 = [[Santa Rosa County, Florida|Santa Rosa]]
| term_start5 = 1904
| term_end5 = 1912
| state_house6 = Florida
| district6 = [[Santa Rosa County, Florida|Santa Rosa]]
| term_start6 = 1902
| term_end6 = 1904
| birth_date = {{birth date|1874|11|23}}
| birth_place = [[Milton, Florida]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1931|2|23|1874|11|23}}
| death_place = [[Pensacola, Florida]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = Alma Chaffin
| children = 2
| education = [[Washington and Lee College]]
| occupation = Attorney
}}
}}


'''Thomas Franklin West''' (November 23, 1874 - February 23, 1931) was an Associate Justice of the [[Florida Supreme Court]] from September 1, 1917 to February 28, 1925, and Chief Justice of that court from February 28, 1925 to December 3, 1925.<ref name="Robinson">Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010).</ref>
'''Thomas Franklin West''' (November 23, 1874 – February 23, 1931) was an American attorney and politician from the state of [[Florida]]. West served as a justice on the [[Supreme Court of Florida|Florida Supreme Court]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/Justices/Former-Justices/Justice-Thomas-Franklin-West|title=Justice Thomas Franklin West|website=Supreme Court|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref>


== Early life and education ==
Born in [[Milton, Florida]],<ref name="Robinson"/> West served in the [[Florida Legislature]] and as [[Attorney General of Florida]] before being appointed to the Florida Supreme Court.<ref name="Orlando">"Well Known Jurist Dies at Pensacola", ''[[The Orlando Sentinel]]'' (February 24, 1931), p. 1.</ref> Following his resignation from the supreme court, he received a four-year appointment to the first Florida judicial circuit, serving as one of two judges in that circuit.<ref name="Orlando"/>
West was born on November 23, 1874, in [[Milton, Florida]]. He attended [[Washington and Lee University|Washington and Lee College]] in [[Virginia]], graduating with a law degree in 1899. The following year, West was admitted into the [[The Florida Bar|Florida Bar]], and began a private practice in Milton.<ref name=":0" />


== Political career ==
West died in [[Pensacola, Florida]],<ref name="Robinson"/> following a bout of [[influenza]].<ref name="Orlando"/>


=== Florida Legislature ===
He was survived by his wife, with whom he had a son, Franklin West also an attorney.<ref name="Orlando"/>
West, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], was elected to the [[Florida House of Representatives]] in 1902, representing [[Santa Rosa County, Florida|Santa Rosa County]]. In 1903, Governor [[William Sherman Jennings]] appointed him to the commission tasked with revising the state's statutes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJmzAAAAIAAJ&q=%22thomas+f+west%22+florida+attorney+general&pg=PA118|title=The Lawyer and Banker and Central Law Journal|last=George|first=Charles Ellewyn|date=1916|publisher=Lawyers and Bankers' Corporation|language=en}}</ref>

He served until 1904, when he was elected to the [[Florida Senate]] for the same county. In 1905, he introduced the original plans for the [[Draining and development of the Everglades|drainage of the Everglades]], aided by Governor [[Napoleon B. Broward]].<ref name=":1" />

While in the state senate, West also worked with the Governor [[Albert W. Gilchrist]], a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive Democrat]], to propose an amendment to the [[Constitution of Florida|Florida Constitution]] which called for the adoption of two popular [[Progressive Era]] reforms, the [[Initiatives and referendums in the United States|initiative and referendum]]. The proposition, designated as House Joint Resolution 222, easily passed both chambers of the [[Florida Legislature]], despite the protest of the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] minority. In 1912, however, [[anti-progressive]]s were able to legally prevent the amendment from appearing on the ballot that year.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kerber|first=Stephen|date=1994|title=The Initiative and Referendum in Florida, 1911-1912| jstor =30084857|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=72|issue=3|pages=302–315|issn=0015-4113}}</ref>

=== Florida Attorney General ===
West served in the Florida Senate for two terms until he was elected [[Florida Attorney General]] in 1912.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/4492d797dc0bd92f85256cb80055fb97/21d3e99c36cfb89385256cc60071795b!OpenDocument|title=Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )|website=myfloridalegal.com|access-date=2019-04-10|archive-date=2019-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090700/http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/4492d797dc0bd92f85256cb80055fb97/21d3e99c36cfb89385256cc60071795b!OpenDocument|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridamemory.com/collections/governors/attorney-general.php|title=Florida Governors|last=Florida|first=State Library and Archives of|website=Florida Memory|language=en|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref> During his tenure, West most notably oversaw two tax-related cases: one brought by the [[Pullman Company]] arguing against the taxation of [[Sleeping car|sleeping car companies]], and the other, ''Rast v. Van Demis and Lewis Company'' (1916), arguing against licensing taxes. Both cases were ruled in favor of the taxes.<ref name=":1" /> In 1915, West did not accept an appointment to [[Florida circuit courts|Florida's First Circuit Court]] opting to run for reelection in 1916 instead.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/340/10358571_8bbcc423-9d51-4110-bcfa-625906ae4538.jpeg|title=Atty. Gen. West to Retain Office|work=The Tallahassee Daily Democrat|access-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref>

West additionally served as the President of the Florida Bar from 1915 until 1916.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMk8AAAAIAAJ&q=list+of+presidents+of+the+florida+bar+%22thomas+f+west%22&pg=PA173|title=Proceedings of the ... Annual Session of the Florida State Bar Association ...|last=Association|first=Florida State Bar|date=1922|publisher=The Association|language=en}}</ref>

In the [[1916 Florida gubernatorial election]], West refused to endorse the Democratic candidate, former [[Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal of Florida|Florida Treasurer]] [[William V. Knott]], claiming he was dishonest and had no regard for the law. West instead endorsed the [[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]] candidate, pastor [[Sidney Johnston Catts|Sidney Johnson Catts]], who had initially run for the Democratic nomination, losing to Knott in the primary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bakerblockmuseum.org/OkNews110316.htm|title=Baker Block Museum History|website=bakerblockmuseum.org|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref> Catts defeated Knott by over 9,000 votes, becoming one of two elected Prohibition candidates, alongside [[Charles Hiram Randall]], a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=131891|title=Our Campaigns - FL Governor Race - Nov 07, 1916|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000036|title=RANDALL, Charles Hiram - Biographical Information|website=bioguide.congress.gov|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref> West was reelected in the same election cycle.

=== Later career ===
As thanks for his endorsement, Catts appointed West to the Florida Supreme Court on September 1, 1917, after the resignation of Justice [[Thomas M. Shackleford]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lawnotesvolume02unkngoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/lawnotesvolume02unkngoog/page/n145 134]|quote=thomas west.|title=Law Notes|date=1918|publisher=E. Thompson Company|language=en}}</ref> West was selected as Chief Justice by the court on February 28, 1923, and served in that position until December 3, 1925, when he was appointed by Governor [[John W. Martin]] to Florida's First Judicial Circuit Court, the same position he refused a decade prior.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/Justices/Chief-Justices-List|title=Chief Justices List|website=Supreme Court|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-10}}</ref>

== Personal life and death ==
West married fellow Floridian Alma Chaffin. They had two daughters, Josephine and Alma.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10358571/thomas-franklin-west|title=Thomas Franklin West, Sr|website=Find a Grave|access-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref>

West worked as a judge until the day of his death, dying from [[influenza]] in [[Pensacola, Florida]], on February 23, 1931. He is buried in the cemetery of the Coldwater Church, a [[Mormons|Mormon]] church in Milton.<ref name=":2" />


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{Florida Attorneys General}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Thomas F.}}


{{authority control}}
[[:Category:Florida Supreme Court justices]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Thomas F.}}
:This open draft is ''still'' in progress.
[[Category:Justices of the Florida Supreme Court]]

[[Category:1931 deaths]]
{{Florida-stub}}
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Florida state senators]]
[[Category:Florida Attorneys General]]
[[Category:Deaths from influenza in the United States]]
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:Washington and Lee University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Milton, Florida]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court]]

Latest revision as of 03:20, 13 April 2024

This article is about the Florida judge. For other uses, see Thomas West.
Thomas F. West
Judge of the First Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
In office
December 3, 1925 – February 23, 1931
Appointed byJohn W. Martin
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
In office
February 28, 1923 – December 3, 1925
Preceded byR. Fenwick Taylor
Succeeded byArmstead Brown
Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
In office
September 1, 1917 – December 3, 1925
Appointed bySidney Johnston Catts
Preceded byThomas M. Shackleford
Succeeded byRivers H. Buford
President of the Florida Bar
In office
1915–1916
Preceded byW. H. Price
Succeeded byNathan Philemon Bryan
20th Florida Attorney General
In office
January 7, 1913 – September 1, 1917
GovernorPark Trammell
Sidney Johnston Catts
Preceded byPark Trammell
Succeeded byVan C. Swearingen
Member of the Florida Senate
from the Santa Rosa district
In office
1904–1912
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the Santa Rosa district
In office
1902–1904
Personal details
Born(1874-11-23)November 23, 1874
Milton, Florida
DiedFebruary 23, 1931(1931-02-23) (aged 56)
Pensacola, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAlma Chaffin
Children2
EducationWashington and Lee College
OccupationAttorney

Thomas Franklin West (November 23, 1874 – February 23, 1931) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida. West served as a justice on the Florida Supreme Court.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

West was born on November 23, 1874, in Milton, Florida. He attended Washington and Lee College in Virginia, graduating with a law degree in 1899. The following year, West was admitted into the Florida Bar, and began a private practice in Milton.[1]

Political career[edit]

Florida Legislature[edit]

West, a Democrat, was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1902, representing Santa Rosa County. In 1903, Governor William Sherman Jennings appointed him to the commission tasked with revising the state's statutes.[2]

He served until 1904, when he was elected to the Florida Senate for the same county. In 1905, he introduced the original plans for the drainage of the Everglades, aided by Governor Napoleon B. Broward.[2]

While in the state senate, West also worked with the Governor Albert W. Gilchrist, a progressive Democrat, to propose an amendment to the Florida Constitution which called for the adoption of two popular Progressive Era reforms, the initiative and referendum. The proposition, designated as House Joint Resolution 222, easily passed both chambers of the Florida Legislature, despite the protest of the conservative minority. In 1912, however, anti-progressives were able to legally prevent the amendment from appearing on the ballot that year.[3]

Florida Attorney General[edit]

West served in the Florida Senate for two terms until he was elected Florida Attorney General in 1912.[4][5] During his tenure, West most notably oversaw two tax-related cases: one brought by the Pullman Company arguing against the taxation of sleeping car companies, and the other, Rast v. Van Demis and Lewis Company (1916), arguing against licensing taxes. Both cases were ruled in favor of the taxes.[2] In 1915, West did not accept an appointment to Florida's First Circuit Court opting to run for reelection in 1916 instead.[6]

West additionally served as the President of the Florida Bar from 1915 until 1916.[7]

In the 1916 Florida gubernatorial election, West refused to endorse the Democratic candidate, former Florida Treasurer William V. Knott, claiming he was dishonest and had no regard for the law. West instead endorsed the Prohibition candidate, pastor Sidney Johnson Catts, who had initially run for the Democratic nomination, losing to Knott in the primary.[8] Catts defeated Knott by over 9,000 votes, becoming one of two elected Prohibition candidates, alongside Charles Hiram Randall, a U.S. Representative from California.[9][10] West was reelected in the same election cycle.

Later career[edit]

As thanks for his endorsement, Catts appointed West to the Florida Supreme Court on September 1, 1917, after the resignation of Justice Thomas M. Shackleford.[11] West was selected as Chief Justice by the court on February 28, 1923, and served in that position until December 3, 1925, when he was appointed by Governor John W. Martin to Florida's First Judicial Circuit Court, the same position he refused a decade prior.[1][12]

Personal life and death[edit]

West married fellow Floridian Alma Chaffin. They had two daughters, Josephine and Alma.[13]

West worked as a judge until the day of his death, dying from influenza in Pensacola, Florida, on February 23, 1931. He is buried in the cemetery of the Coldwater Church, a Mormon church in Milton.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Justice Thomas Franklin West". Supreme Court. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  2. ^ a b c George, Charles Ellewyn (1916). The Lawyer and Banker and Central Law Journal. Lawyers and Bankers' Corporation.
  3. ^ Kerber, Stephen (1994). "The Initiative and Referendum in Florida, 1911-1912". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 72 (3): 302–315. ISSN 0015-4113. JSTOR 30084857.
  4. ^ "Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )". myfloridalegal.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  5. ^ Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Florida Governors". Florida Memory. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  6. ^ "Atty. Gen. West to Retain Office". The Tallahassee Daily Democrat. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Association, Florida State Bar (1922). Proceedings of the ... Annual Session of the Florida State Bar Association ... The Association.
  8. ^ "Baker Block Museum History". bakerblockmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  9. ^ "Our Campaigns - FL Governor Race - Nov 07, 1916". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  10. ^ "RANDALL, Charles Hiram - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  11. ^ Law Notes. E. Thompson Company. 1918. p. 134. thomas west.
  12. ^ "Chief Justices List". Supreme Court. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  13. ^ a b "Thomas Franklin West, Sr". Find a Grave. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
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