Born on August 2, 1883, near Lakeland, Florida, DeVane received a Bachelor of Laws in 1908 from the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
He was an associate and general counsel for the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. from 1922 to 1930.
He was reassigned to serve solely on the Northern District on October 1, 1947.
[1] On the court DeVane earned a reputation as a "staunch segregationist.
"[2] DeVane was assigned to the 1962 case James H. Meredith v. Charles Dickson Fair, et al. DeVane dissented from the decision of judges John Minor Wisdom and John Robert Brown allowing James H. Meredith to enroll at the University of Mississippi, which had denied him admission on account of his race.