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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> Miami Area INDIVIDUALS and GROUPS Historical Photos Gallery - All Years - click on image to view > 1993 - retired Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph A. Boyd and 11th Circuit Court Judge Mattie Belle Davis (bios below)
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1993 Florida Memory Project

1993 - retired Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph A. Boyd and 11th Circuit Court Judge Mattie Belle Davis (bios below)

Federal Courthouse, Miami, Florida


I could be blunt and say that both were Georgia Peaches and that Joe Boyd was Hialeah City Attorney (resident of Miami Springs) and a 10-year member of the Dade County Commission who rose to join the Florida Supreme Court. And I could add that Judge Mattie Belle Davis was an absolute terror to teenagers of the '60's who went before her with traffic citations when she presided over the county's Traffic Court in Hialeah. Based on personal experience and hearing stories from many others, she almost always sided with the police officer over a traffic ticket or tickets, even if it was BS, and she awarded substantial fines and drivers license points to teenage drivers who barely had a few bucks to spare. I don't remember having "traffic school" back then where you could avoid points on your license like today's rules. She was hell as a judge and you knew you were going to hang if she was your judge. But I will let bygones be bygones after 50+ years and I'll publish the state's rendition describing the above photo:

Biography for Joseph A. Boyd
Joseph A. Boyd was born on November 16, 1916 in Jackson County, Georgia, he moved to Florida in 1939. He fought in World War II as a U.S. Marine. Boyd then moved to Miami where he earned a law degree from the University of Miami while working as a hotel clerk. Following his 1948 graduation, he served as the Hialeah city attorney. From 1958 through 1968, Boyd served on the Dade County Commission. Joseph A. Boyd served as a Florida Supreme Court justice from January 7, 1969 through January 6, 1987, and was Chief Justice from 1984 through 1987. After retiring the court, Boyd worked as a private attorney with his son, Joe Boyd. He also wrote a series of children's books. He died on October 26, 2007 and was buried in MeadowWood Memorial Park in Tallahassee.

Biography for Mattie Belle Davis
Mattie Belle Davis was born on February 28, 1910 in Ellabell, Georgia and moved with her family to Miami in July 1926. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1936, practiced law until she was appointed the first woman Judge to the Metropolitan Dade County Court in 1959 and served on the bench in the Circuit and County Court of Dade County until her retirement in 1996. Mattie Belle Davis passed away on July 3, 2003.

Joe Boyd's obituary is located under his photo at: http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/88130046


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