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ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Joseph W. Hatchett died on Friday. Hatchett died In Tallahassee. he was 88 years old.
Hatchett was the first African-American appointed to Florida’s highest court in 1975 by then Gov. Reuben Askew.
Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Joseph W. Hatchett died in Tallahassee on Friday, April 30, 2021. Hatchett was 88 and was the first African American appointed to the Court. Read more: https://t.co/4VhgApr0NJ pic.twitter.com/CHxQuPl1VL
— FloridaSupremeCourt (@flcourts) May 1, 2021
Former President Jimmy Carter named Hatchett to the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in 1979.
Hatchett graduated from Florida A&M University in 1954 and went on to earn his law degree in 1959 from Howard University School of Law.
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Hatchett also worked as a federal prosecutor and in private practice.
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No cause of death has been released.
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Associated Press contributed to this article.
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